Early C20th Task Light by Ernst Rademacher.

Rare example of a cult lamp design.

We're excited about this one! Normally we only focus on British made and/or designed objects but we do have to admit to holding more than a small fondness for the German Modernists. Walter Gropius’ founding of the Bauhaus in the 1920’s, with it’s iconoclastic (and holistic) views on the nature of what design had been up to that point, has arguably had the single most profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design and typography, of any creative movement in the last 100 years.

Designed by Ernst Rademacher as a industrial task lamp, this example had languished in a metal fabricator’s workshop for decades and was so covered in neglect (and years of paint) that we didn’t even spot what it was until long after buying it up. Once it was disassembled and the paint stripper had unveiled the “R” Rademacher logos on the lamp base and the bakelite cover of the cable junction box, the penny finally dropped. 

Rademacher GmbH of Dusseldorf was founded in 1914 as an electrical appliance retailer. During the ’20’s the company began production of Rademacher’s own designs for industrial task lighting; hand lamps and jointed desk lamps & machinist’s lamps, their designs registered with the DRP (German Patent Office). Today the Rademacher name still exists in connection with contemporary industrial lighting, having been absorbed by Scmidt-Strahl. These early Rademachers have a simplicity and elegance of design arguably only matched by Dugdills, but there are far fewer Rademachers left in the world. 

This hugely elegant lamp has been polished to a matte finish and rewired with brand new braided cable. For sale mounted on an Iroko desk base & featuring a period, ceramic and bakelite on/off toggle switch. The lamp cable enters the base through a brass cable gland and is channelled forwards, through the timber, to the switch before returning to exit through another brass gland, trailing 2.5 metres of plugged cable. The bulb holder is a bayonet fit and we have installed a small, round globe LED bulb. These are our new “standard” bulb; not only do they give a lovely quality of light, a 5watt LED bulb has the same light output as a conventional 40watt bulb and lasts much longer than current energy saver bulbs. Dimmable versions are available as well.

As a final detail, the desk base has been given 3 routed channels to hold a Staedtler propelling pencil and 2 draughtsman’s lining pens. Very precise. Very German.

£795

ITEM No:

DIMENSIONS:

ORIGIN: Dusseldorf, Germany

CONDITION: Excellent

STOCK: One

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