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Barnebys HQ
Brahegatan 10
BOX 5038
114 37 Stockholm
All auctions / Lighting / Philips - Louis Kalff - Desk lamp (2) - Decora (Z-lamp)...
Extremely rare black-and-white Philips Decora (Z-lamp) desk lamp with original packaging (box). Materials: Thick brass rod with a black lacquer finish as counterweight. Rectangular brass slats and a lacquered brass rod. White aluminum lampshade in UFO style, white on the inside. The shade is perforated with many elongated slits and a hole in the center. Bakelite E27 socket. Height: 40 cm / 15.74" Width: Ø 35 cm / 13.77" Electricity: 1 lamp E27, maximum 100 watt, 110/220 volt. Any type of lamp can be used. At the moment the lamp is equipped with a large silver-colored 100 watt spotlight lamp. There is a difference in power between 60 and 100 watt incandescent lamps. The 100 watt lamp is preferred. Period: late 1950s, early 1960s Designer: Louis Christiaan Kalff Manufacturer: Philips, Eindhoven, Netherlands. Other versions: The Philips Decora desk lamp was produced in different colors. The most common is the unlacquered brass variant with a black shade. Over the years a few small variations were made. It is often called a Z-lamp, and the reason is obvious. The real name is Decora. It was designed in 1956. The successor to the Decora desk lamp is the Diplomat. This has a straight lampshade, not curved, and without the elongated slits. It was produced from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. The model offered here was made in the late 1950s or early 1960s and was intended for the German market. This is evident from the original German plug, which was equipped with the first version for protective earth, later replaced by the two clamps on either side. This black-and-white version is very rare, and the original box still available is extremely rare as well. Louis Christiaan Kalff (1897–1976) Louis Kalff (Amsterdam, 14 November 1897 – Waalre, 16 September 1976) was the designer and art director who, more than anyone, gave Philips a modern visual identity in the 1920s and 1930s. From 1925 he worked in Philips’ advertising department in Eindhoven, where he was tasked with aligning the company’s advertising and presentation with its size and ambitions. Philips corporate identity and logo When Kalff joined Philips, the name “Philips” was written in many different ways. He standardized the lettering, the colors (he favored strong primary colors), and the overall layout of advertisements and packaging. In the second half of the 1920s he introduced the combination of waves and stars as a symbol for radio broadcasts, first on packaging and later on products. In 1938 he combined the wordmark and emblem into the well-known Philips shield – one of his most famous contributions. Besides his work for Philips, he designed posters and graphic works for the Holland-America Line, Calvé, Zeebad Scheveningen, Radio Holland and others, always in the same bright, modern style. Lighting and the LIBU (1929) Because electric lighting in architecture was evolving rapidly, Kalff founded the Lighting Advisory Bureau (LIBU) in 1929. This bureau advised architects, municipalities and businesses on the use of light in buildings, shops and public spaces. The bureau promoted not only Philips products, but also looked at market needs. Through LIBU Kalff supplied lighting for various world exhibitions, including those in Barcelona, Antwerp and Paris. Louis Kalff died on 16 September 1976 in Waalre.
Estimate:$968.2
To the auctionEstimate:
$968.2
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