1970s Lita Clamp Spotlight

Materials: White painted iron tube and clamp. Chromed metal (iron) square rod. Some metal parts and spring. Porcelain E27 socket.

Lamp Holder: 10,4 cm / 4.09”

Width: 7,5 cm / 2.95”

Clamp: 10 x 8 cm / 3.93 x 3.14”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 100 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used. For this setup a PAR38 spot light bulb was used.

Period: 1970s, 1980s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer:  To be appraised.

Manufacturer: Lita, France.

Other versions: This 1970s Lita clamp spotlight was made for a long time and was produced in many colours. Versions exists with hammered paint.

Lita

Lita was a French manufacturer of lighting and spotlights for gardening and interior lighting. It was acquired by La Compagnie des Lampes together with Projelux in 1974. La Compagnie des Lampes was renamed into Mazda. 

The names Projelux en Lita were used for a couple of years. Projelux made several Philips lights for the French market. In 2002 Philips merged with Mazda. The two brands still coexist, but the Philips products are presented in the catalogue of Mazda and vice versa. From 2007, products previously sold (and labelled) as Mazda products are now sold and labelled as Philips products.
In 2011, the brand Mazda Eclairage and its website, officially disappears to give place to the brand Philips.

Mazda

The name Mazda was for the first time used in the United States in 1909 by General Electric. At that time the light bulbs were not standardised, a problem for customers whereby each lamp holder or each appliance corresponded to a precise type or lamp brand.  General Electric therefore had the idea of creating a standard to which any company could adhere. Light bulbs manufactured from the specifications of this standard were marketed as Mazda lamps. Around 1920, many American companies, including General Electric and Westinghouse used the name Mazda to market their lamps.

The famous French light designer Jacques Biny (1913 – 1976), designed several lights for Lita such as the Zodiac wall lamp, a type of projector lamp.

Some other designers that created lights for Lita were Jean Boris Lacroix and Alain Brux.