Interesting that Nordisk Solar Compagni, Lyfa and Louis Poulsen have all produced lamps with a very similar shape. The Poulsen version is included in a 1967 catalogue but certainly dates from earlier than that. Entitled Emaillearmatur, it comes in four diameters (30cm, 35cm, 40cm and 45cm), and one colour (black, pictured below). No designer is specified.
In 1968 the Lyfa design appears, made of glass and credited to the architect couple Eva & Nils Koppel. With a diameter of 29cm, it was produced in two colours – a yellow version (below) entitled Gultop (in English, yellow top) and a green one called Grøntop (green top), winning an iF Product Design Award in 1969 under the collective title Glastop.
The first time we come across the Nordisk Solar version (below) is in a catalogue from the late 1970s or early 80s. Its title is Solo and its diameter is 35cm. No designer is given.
Much later, perhaps the early 80s, Lyfa produced another similar lamp, this time in metal, but we have no formal record for that. Clearly a popular shape, and perhaps even more widely used than our research here would indicate. If anyone knows of further examples, we’d love to hear about them.
Month: April 2010
-
Three of a kind
-
Verner Panton and LamPetit
Did Verner Panton design Louis Poulsen’s versatile LamPetit? Certainly the compact little lamp is unexpected for its 1966 date, looking more like something from the 1980s with its blocky minimal lines and red-black-grey colour range, so you’d think it was designed by someone with an original approach.
But the 1960s Poulsen adverts for the lamp did not specify a designer, so the LamPetit is often credited to the Louis Poulsen in-house design team. However, a Poulsen booklet published after Panton’s death reveals that it was in fact the work of the great man himself, listing the LamPetit together with other lights he designed for the company – the Flowerpot, the VP Kugle (VP Globe), the Europa and the Panthella.
-
A Bent Karlby mystery
Most fans of vintage Danish lighting know that Bent Karlby designed for Lyfa, creating several of the company’s most sought-after pieces including the Påefugl (Peacock) and the Kvadrille. But few know that he also designed lights for another Danish manufacturer, A Schrøder Kemi A/S of Juelsminde. Among these are the Pan, a trio comprising pendant light, table lamp and wall light:
All three lights are made of acrylic, specifically Plexiglas, and Schrøder’s tagline appears to have been “Danish Plexiglas Lighting”, suggesting that this was the only material they used. Indeed, the word Kemi (chemistry in English) in their title indicates that their core business was the production of polymers. So what are we to make of this pendant light, a very heavy-quality metal – apparently solid brass – version of the Schrøder Pan?
It seems unlikely that it was produced by Schrøder, since they do not appear to have produced any other metal lights, nor do they mention a metal version in the marketing material for the Plexiglas Pans. Who else might have produced it? The metal Pan has much in common with Karlby’s Pan series for Lyfa – the Pan-opticon, the Pandean and (pictured here) the Pantre:
But there are differences in weight (the Lyfa Pan series being much lighter), metal (the Lyfa lights being made of aluminium coated with anodised silver), and finish (the Lyfas having coloured interior finishes). Could the brass Pan be an earlier Lyfa light, a precursor for the later series? Or was it made by another company altogether? If anyone can cast any light on this mystery, we’d love to hear about it.
-
Welcome to vintage danish lights
Welcome to our brand new blog about and directory of vintage Danish lighting! We were inspired to create them by the many mistakes in attribution we see around the internet, and we hope they will play some part in putting the record straight.
The directory covers several hundred vintage Danish lights from the 1960s and 1970s, and all the information comes from primary sources such as original advertisements and manufacturers’ product catalogues.
The blog address is vintage-danish-lights.com, and the directory is at danish-lights.com. We hope you will visit us often!