Links (external links open in a new window)
History of the company can be found here: 60 Years of Light from Lemgo – Zumtobel plant celebrates historic milestones
iF Design Award for this 1960s Staff floor lamp
Colorado potato beetle on Wikipedia as an agricultural pest
Zone Blanche – Black Spot (TV series) – Wikipedia
Zone Blanche – Black Spot (TV series) – IMDb
Vintageinfo
This floor lamp in the Raak 1968 catalogue
Oyster wall lamp – Dieter Witte
Cross Oyster wall lamp – Rolf Krüger
Motoko Ishii globe flush mount
Bubble glass pendant chandelier
Many thanks to Frank from nullviernull raum+kommunikation for the beautiful pictures and enthusiasm. You can find his shop over here on Ebay.
1960s Staff Floor Lamp
Materials: Round black painted metal base. Cast iron counterweight inside. Long chrome rod. Adjustable round tubular fabric lampshade. White plastic parts. Some chrome and metal parts. 2 Bakelite E27 sockets.
Height: 160,5 cm / 63.18”
Lampshade: ∅ 50 cm /19.68”
Base: ∅ 22 cm / 8.66”
Electricity: 2 bulbs E27, 2 x 100 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.
Period: 1960s, 1970s.
Designer: To be appraised.
Manufacturer: Staff & Schwarz Leuchtenwerke GMBH, Lemgo, Germany.
Model number: L 400.
Other versions: This 1960s Staff floor lamp exists in many variations and was also made with a smaller, long tubular lampshade. Several types of fabric were used. Later versions from the 70s have a chrome base. Lamps with a tripod base exists. It was also made as a table lamp. They were made with a pull cord switch or with a switch on cord. Produced for many years, until the 1980s.
This lamp, but with a slightly different lampshade, model 1160, received an iF Design Award in 1963. Discipline: Product. This lamp is from the late 60s, when Staff started to use different numbers.
These floor lamps were also sold by the Dutch Raak company. You can find them over here in the 1968 catalogue.
Staff
Staff Leuchten – Staff & Schwarz Leuchtenwerk (lighting plant) – was established by Alfred Staff and Otto Schwarz in Lemgo, (West) Germany in 1945.
Their business started as a shop for consumer goods in wood and metal as well as pesticide for controlling the Colorado potato beetle, a huge problem at that time.
Within a year they the company expanded with 15 employees and they produced the first wrought iron luminaires. Over the next three decades, Staff was to develop into a world leader in design excellence, receiving over 200 awards for their achievements.
Staff also collaborated with the Italian company Stilnovo. They published a joint catalogue in the 1970s. The Dutch Raak and the Danish Lyfa sold several lamps in the 60s and 70s. Several other companies did.
In 1994 Zumtobel bought the company.
Lamps in the movies
A 1960s Staff floor lamp was used as a prop in the 2016 French-Belgian television thriller series Zone Blanche (White zone but named Black spot). Starring Suliane Brahim, Hubert Delattre and Laurent Capelluto. Here together with a tilted Philips Timor or Major desk lamp. Many other lamps appear in this TV series.
1960s Staff floor lamp – 1964 catalogue picture
