Dame & Co (DACO)

Dame & Co, also known under the abbreviated brand name DACO, was a German lighting manufacturer based in Neheim-Hüsten, one of the historic centres of the German lighting industry.
The company was founded in 1893, as confirmed by period logos bearing the inscription “DACO – gegründet 1893”.

By the interwar period, Dame & Co had grown into a large-scale industrial manufacturer.
Company letterheads from 1935 identify the firm as a Beleuchtungskörper-Fabrik, with extensive banking, postal and telecommunication facilities, indicating nationwide commercial activity.
Dame & Co regularly exhibited at major trade fairs, including the Leipzig Trade Fair, one of the most important industrial exhibitions in Europe at the time.

The company produced a wide range of lighting fixtures and issued extensive catalogues.
Catalogue numbering shows a long continuity of production, with main catalogues and supplements already exceeding number 30 by the mid-1930s, and continuing into the post-war decades.

In the 1950s, Dame & Co received international recognition when the company was awarded two iF Design Awards (1957), one for a table lamp (this one?) and one for a television lamp (Fernsehleuchte).
The iF documentation confirms the manufacturer and location, although no designer names are listed.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Dame & Co also embraced modern materials.
The company introduced lamp shades made from a proprietary fibreglass-reinforced material marketed under the name POLYDAM.
According to catalogue descriptions, POLYDAM shades were produced using PALATAL, a synthetic resin supplied by BASF, combined with glass fibre.
These shades were promoted as durable, heat-resistant, anti-static, colourfast and easy to clean.

Many Dame & Co lamps were sold without explicit designer attribution and were distributed through various retailers and wholesalers, both in Germany and abroad.
As a result, numerous models are today frequently misattributed to better-known designers or manufacturers.
Original catalogue documentation, however, clearly places these lamps within the production of Dame & Co / DACO.

The company no longer exists, and the exact date at which it ceased operations remains unclear.
Nevertheless, surviving catalogues and lamps demonstrate that Dame & Co played a significant role in German industrial lighting production from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century.

S.A. Boulanger

S.A. Boulanger was founded in Anderlecht, Belgium, in 1945. The company became well known for the large number of lighting designs it produced by Gaetano Sciolari. At some point in the 1980s, the company changed its name to Les Ateliers Boulanger NV.

For a long time, it was believed that S.A. Boulanger and Les Ateliers Boulanger were two separate companies. This misconception originated from a trader in Liège, Belgium, who persistently claimed that the lamps were produced in Herstal, near Liège.

In 1996, the company employed 11 people. In 1998, it relocated to Martelarenlaan 155 in 3010 Kessel-Lo, near Leuven. Between 1995 and 2001, Jean-Philippe Spalart served as CEO. During this period, he conducted feasibility studies on relocating production to China, Eastern Europe, and Africa, including a proposed manufacturing move to Zimbabwe.

Boulanger specialised in metal processing and manufactured high-end lamps and lighting fixtures. Les Ateliers Boulanger ceased operations in 2006.

Massive & Boulanger

Over the years, Massive sold several Boulanger models. The differences are limited to the typical Massive canopy or ceiling cap and a few other components.

Company description (1990s source)

“Boulanger mainly operates in the high-end lighting markets of Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg. Growing sales in the United States and South Africa are becoming increasingly important to the company. Given the highly competitive nature of the market, offering products with high added value is essential. The intelligent lamp represents a significant advantage over competitors and is expected to substantially increase market share.

The most important local competitors are Massive, a Belgian company and European market leader (turnover of approximately €100 million), Deknudt of Deerlijk (turnover of €2.5 million), and around ten other Belgian competitors of similar size. There is also strong competition from Southern European and Asian manufacturers. Boulanger’s market share represents only a few percent of the total Belgian market. It is a small company with an annual turnover of approximately €300,000.”

“Most Boulanger lamps are low-voltage halogen models (220V up to 300W or 12V up to 50W). The products are sold through retail outlets. In Belgium, around 300 retail shops carry Boulanger products, with approximately 40 additional retailers abroad, including Luxembourg, Germany, France, and South Africa.”