I just scored a 1968 Moe Lighting catalog, and it is 102 pages of sheer beauty. Peoples: If you are not keeping your eyes open and wallets stocked with just a little extra something for the most fabuloso vintage lighting that you can get your hands on, well, then, I feel bad. Because there is probably no feature that can have the biggest impact on the sparkly-ness of a home than lighting. I myself am guilty: The light in my dining room is a piece of inexpensive whatever that we hung in there when we first bought the house 10 years ago. I am ashamed of myself. This is going on The List tout suit. Today, from my 1968 catalog: Moe’s complete Honeycomb line, including the new-for-’68 cranberry-pink … and 5 rooms shots sure to make you smile bright as a tangerine-gold pendant.
I do not know when Moe introduced this style — perhaps reader Greg can tell us, I first saw this lighting in his Los Angeles house:
Here’s how the catalog describes the line:
Vivid honeycomb … Moe Light’s exclusive expression of creative lighting at its finest.
The photo above: From a fantastic time capsule house first chronicled on Vintage Las Vegas. I also archived the image in my vintage lighting slide show.
In 1968, the catalog says, the Cranberry-pink was introduced. The blue is called “Emerald-blue”. The gold: Tangerine-gold.
Here’s the room shot — a hallway, it appears. It’s … interesting … to see this light paired with rustic furniture, wall paneling, and look: the door has wrought iron. I think we are seeing seeds of the Mediterranean Casa de la Torquemada look. Not a scene in which we might expect to see this thoroughly modern light — just goes to show that they mixed it up plenty back in the day. Or else, the Moe interior designers were doing magic mushrooms. 1968 and all.
Meanwhile, back in suburbia on the planet Earth, this is the Mrs.’ blue sewing room. Yes, this room would tempt even me to give it all up for a band of gold. There’s a lot going on, so don’t lose the lights: There’s a blue honeycomb pull-down in the foreground, and honeycomb-trimmed can lights in the ceiling near the stairs. The catalog says:
Every homemaker’s dream… the woman’s studio … smartly designed and accented with emerald-blue honeycomb lighting styles.
You gotta love this. Does anyone recognize the artwork?
These photos are always such a gas: Look closely, the bed is set into a nook; the nook is upholstered in the same fabric as the bedspread. There also is a light bar back there.
The wall sconces are particularly snappy, don’t you think?
The pendants, too. And these are so NOW. I can imagine many a lighting company introducing them today — with fanfare like they were their idea.
These “celing tracks” are wicked cool. They “let you move fixtures up to six feet.” You could use them like a swag, or there was hardware included to hard wire them.
Remember: I have been told that pull down lighting is no longer to code; consult with a professional, please. And: Vintage lighting should be rewired.
Now here’s some 70s going on. These lights are insane. Luv.
There are a bunch of other drop-dead gorgeous lights in my 1968 catalog. I’ll try to get them up soon. But you know me. Always distracted by the next little pretty.
Mid-century Lightolier lighting catalog – 73 pages 
Retro 50s 60s lighting for kitchen, bathroom, dining room and more — from Rejuvenation Lighting 
Should we use recessed can lighting in a mid century living room? 
Become a fan
Those look like a dust catching nightmare to me. Are those really honeycomb openings on the sides? I am imagining all the dust and cobwebs building up in there and trying to get it all out.
Eliza Jane, I *think* the honeycombs are encased and that it’s flat and smooth on the outside…
Yes, the honeycomb is encased.
That painting is so Keane! …Taken from a line from Woofy Allen’s “Sleeper”
I was loving it all until that last shot of the pendants…..a real left turn!
20th century lighting with in a “Spanish/Mediteranean” interior I can appreciate, but it was this “Modern Baroque” twist that caused such a backlash in the early 1970′s.
Oh! Love them!
And, I desperately NEED one of those ceiling tracks! I have the pull down fixture ready and waiting, but I need the track and the weights! I have photographs of the original fixture in our dining room, and this track was originally there. Currently it’s just a regular ol’ track light. Shouldn’t be hard to change back, but I need to find that original type of track!
I like the shot of the bedroom, although I would omit the giant pull downs flanking the bed. Those shots are set up to sell those lights (which if I were still permitted to buy vintage lighting, I might be scouring for), but I think some modest lamps or wall sconces would look better. I love the recessed nook though…wonder how hard that is to replicate??
Funny how different people like different things….I LOVE those pull down lights instead of the typical, expected bedside lamps.
I agree that they’re outside the norm, but I’d like it better if they were smaller in scale (maybe pendants). I see those pull downs (at least for me) as one giant accident waiting to happen. I can envision it perfectly: My alarm goes off, startles me awake, and in my clamor to hit the snooze button I flail my arm into one of them and thus ends the pull downs
I love these honeycomb lights though. As far as I can tell, there aren’t any new fixtures made today (at least at a reasonable cost) that replicates this design.
Anyone know what sort of hardware is involved in making a cabinet with those pivoting drawers like in the sewing room?
Kersten, that track itself was not electrified, so I would think you could adapt just about any ceiling mount type curtain rod, or room divider rod to this purpose. IKEA self a room divider set up that would work. Then its just a matter of the weights, and I’m sure they would be easy enough to improvise with a little work.
PLEASE: Consult with a pro on whether this is safe.
Pam, I promise to be safe about the pull down. Thank you, Woody, for the note on the track. I agree that it looks like a simple metal track — wonder if I could find the sliders that hold the cord on the “up” side. Seems simple enough but just difficult enough to keep me from getting anywhere on that project!
Yes. You could probably use a track from a bi-fold door. Can’t remember if the clips were plastic or metal, but the cord just slid right into the clip. As for the weights. Get creative if you can’t find originals. I think they were more decorative then anything and only weight a couple of ounces.
I just bought one of these pull down track lights from an estate sale of a dealer/hoarder. HUGE 3 day sale. Can’t tell you what a pain in the tush it was trying to take down that light in a house crowded with people and things. Fortunately I had my ladder and tools in the car. And I didn’t break anything in the process. lol
I wanted to get you a pic of that track, but it is still burried in my van.
I have one of those “pull down” light fixtures in my basement. (Aren’t they more “pull over”?) Sadly, it isn’t one of the cool and colorful fixtures above – it’s a little plainer. This discussion got me curious so I went down and looked at it. I think it would be a little difficult to recreate – the cord is affixed to little plastic wheels that fit into the track. Each wheel has a hanging piece of metal that grips the light’s electric cord. The weights are just brass weights – that part would be easy. Although you’d have to run the light cord through them before you put on the plug or wired it into the ceiling I guess.
OK, my light is 1960′s original and hasn’t been rewired. It plugs into the wall and, um, it works. It’s in my enormous rec room downstairs and there’s a little Optimists sticker stuck to the paneled wall near it. I imagine Optimists down there smoking and playing cards (after having pulled the light over the card table.)
I just bought my 1962 Strauss Brothers ranch style Trend Home (I love that – yes, they called them “Trend Homes”. There’s a whole subdivision here called “Trendwood”.) in June and it hasn’t been messed with too much over the years. If I didn’t have a groovy Hollywood Regency swag in my living room, I might move that “pull over” light upstairs….
I have actually seen an emerald blue elongated cone for sale a few yrs back at a local store. Very cool!
None on the bay, but someone has 3 of the emerald blue pendants for sale on the interwebs for $255.
My parents have been hounding me to list a retro pendant lamp on Etsy, but I didn’t want to because I thought no one would buy it. Now you’ve inspired me, and I’ll never look at vintage lighting (that no one would ever buy) the same way again. Just because the average person wouldn’t have anything to do with it, doesn’t mean some of us more highly evolved folks won’t recognize what a marvel it is!
I think it’s a Mao painting, (unsure of spelling)
The big eyes…
Those wide eyed child paintings are by Margaret Keane. During their divorce, her husband at the time, Walter Keane, claimed he was the artist, and filed for the rights to all the paintings. The case went to the Federal level, where Margaret ended up painting a canvas in front of the judge, proving SHE was actually the artist who produced all these works. Walter claimed he couldn’t paint for the judge because he has a “sore shoulder.” The judge awarded all rights to Margaret. Now you know!
Wow! Great story!
That pull down lamp is exactly what I’m looking for! And I love the sewing room – I have a sewing room/office that I wish would look so neat & put together!
Note the pattern pieces as wall art!!!!!
I did notice that – but thought it wasn’t wall art…she’s probably working on a sewing project and didn’t want to lose part of the pattern.
I love the sewing room too!!! I use odd/old pattern covers and pieces as art AND pin up pieces I am sewing as a guide!
The lights are fantastic!
I think you threw that last picture in just to see if everyone was awake and paying attention. Eww, ick! I was getting flashbacks to the hideous chandelier that hung in my dining room when i bought the house – the curlicues and swirling sculptured light arms. Thanks for sharing, old catalogs and ads are neat!
I just LUV it because it’s SO RIDICULOUS
Walking on ice here, but:
I think Jeannie (as in,I Dream of…) had those pendants hanging in her bottle….
woah, good one. someone needs to watch some episodes and grab a screen shot!
Oh, Lowes! Are you listening, here? We want!
My grandmother had an Emerald-Blue pull down lamp over her kitchen table for years. This brought back memories!
My grandmother, too. The house was originally built and occupied by my Aunt & Uncle so I guess they had the fine taste first. Wish I’d taken it out when she sold the house (I also lost out on a Nelson bubble lamp which my cousin trashed during his college years. Ouch.)
Totally flashes back to days ala “Courtship of Eddie’s Father.”
Ceiling tracks are not always so cool when you have them. I hate hate hate mine but mainly cause I think it looks like something straight out of Pizza Hut 1987, maybe I need to save up and get one of these suckers.
I want these……correction I need these.
my church has similar lights in hallways in 1960s built ‘the new church’. : ) a real blast from the past, not replaced since they are in out of the way hallway behind sanctuary. Yes, dust catchers!
I have the largest, pyramid shape one seen at the bottom of the catalog page of the emerald blue collection (the pic w/blk background in this story), w/the little teak knob underneath. It was shipped badly from the eBay seller I got it from and the glass disk cracked as did the lamp shell. I glued the shell back together and finally found a replacement disk the right size. The honeycomb effect is achieved with brown paper on the inside which is quite fragile. It’s literally just paper, sprayed or lightly coated with shellack. The light has a three way switch & three bulbs. I have nowhere to put it really, but can’t let it go because it’s too cool!
Ha! You have a picture of ours!!! Wonderful seeing the nine on your page … we live in the Vegas “time capsule” home. Thanks for the post!
Congratulations!!!!!