Dirk Van Erp was a clamp designer who immigrated from Holland to San Francisco in 1886. Van Erp's lamps consisted of hammered copper bases and shades of translucent mica (also called isinglass) treated with shellac to give them an amber cast. He arrived at his extraordinary handmade designs through a slow process of trial and error.
His early copper pieces were crafted from shell casings that he brought home from his job at the Mare Island Naval Shipyards. Initially, he gave them away to friends; later he sold them through craft shops and fairs. The positive reception to them encouraged him to give up his job and to open the Copper Shop in 1908. The lamps that he began to market around 1911 were immediately successful.
At its peak, Van Erp's shop was staffed by his son and daughter, plus two metalsmiths, Harry St. John Dixon and August Tiesselinck, each of whom later established a respected shop of his own. In addition to his beautiful copper and mica lamps, he produced a variety of hand-hammered bowls and trays. On rare occasions Grueby tiles were incorporated into their work.
Van Erp lamps are highly prized in today's antique market. A Dirk Van Erp copper-and-mica lamp sold for $159,500 at auction at auction November 1999!