This entire setting is typically covered, at least partially, by a large cylindrical (or bell-shaped) fabric shade which is fitted over the reflector bowl, an upturned, white-colored glass, hemispherical diffuser surrounding the center bulb.
The top of the lamp is usually designed to sit just above eye-level of an average adult person standing next to it, to avoid unpleasant glare from unshaded bulbs.
One model turns the current light settings on or off by moving the lamp pole up or down.
The result is that one lamp can provide a very soft, diffuse glow or quickly adjusted to illuminate an entire room, and everything in between.
Mogul lamps are also the subject of a mathematics problem concerning the number of possible combinations of power that can be obtained.