1970s Clamp Gooseneck Spotlight
Materials: Black plastic clamp, metal spring. Metal goose-neck in a black plastic flexible tube. Yellow painted iron tubular lampshade, painted black inside. Porcelain E14 socket.
Lenght: 56 cm / 22.04”
Lampshade: ∅ 6,3 cm / 2.48”
Clamp: 11,5 cm / 4.52”
Electricity: 1 bulb E14, 1 x 75 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used. But a spot bulb is preferred.
Period: 1960s, 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.
Designer: To be appraised.
Manufacturer: Massive, Mortsel, Kontich and Wommelgem, Belgium.
Other versions: This 1970s clamp gooseneck spotlight exists in several colours. Also completely made in black.
These clamp lamps were sold by Massive, Vrieland Design and Herda from The Netherlands. Probably also some other companies.
Massive
Massive was in origin a bronze foundry and they produced mainly candlesticks, crucifixes and chandeliers in Wilrijk near Antwerp, Belgium. The company was founded in 1926 by Pieter-Jozef De Jaeck. His son Eddy De Jaeck was responsible for the huge expansion of the company in the 1970s. But it were his sons, Piet and Jan De Jaeck who made Massive a true multinational. Thus, they moved production to Eastern Europe and China.
In the 1980s Massive became the leading brand in Europe. In 2002, the brothers left the company to the investment fund CVC Capital Partners, for allegedly more than 250 million euros. Since 2008 the company is owned by Philips and the name of the shops is changed into Light Gallery.
When the takeover by Philips was announced in November 2006 Massive commercialised more than 10.000 lighting products under brand names such as Massive, TRIO and Lirio. The group had about 5.000 employees worldwide and was active in 70 countries.
Massive sold many lamps made by others. Peill + Putzler from Germany and Yamada Shomei from Japan produced lamps for Massive, to name a few. Many other lighting companies did.
VLM Components
All the electric parts were made by VLM Components. VLM Components was founded in 1945 in Buccinasco, a small village near Milan, Italy. VLM Components is part of the Relco Group, founded in 1967. Today they are the owners of the brands Relco, Leuci, Relco Lighting, VLM Components and Segno. VLM Components became famous for the switches they produce which were designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1968.
Vrieland Design
Vrieland Design produced many lamps. Their main designer was Ad van Berlo. He was also awarded for the Sweazy desk lamp in 1987. Ad van Berlo founded his design agency VanBerlo in 1982, after his graduation at the Design Academy Eindhoven.
The company sold many lamps produced by other companies such as Massive from Belgium, Yamada Shomei from Japan and many others.
The company was active from the late 1970s until the 1990s, to see on the lamps they sold and the labels. Labels from the 1990s have the CE logo on their labels when it became mandatory in the European Union. Not to be confused with the Chinese label CE, what stands for China Export and is almost identical.
Recent years
Similar lamps were made in the 2000s by the Hong Kong lighting company Man Kwong Lighting ltd. They are all labelled with “Man Kwong micro-flex clamp lamp”. The CE logo is also present.
