1950s Stilux Desk Lamp

Materials: Round cream painted metal (iron) base. Cream painted brass rod. Adjustable brass rod, joints, parts and ornamental nut. 2 ornamental brass screws. Green painted conical aluminium lampshade, painted white inside. Brass and porcelain E27 lamp socket.

Height: 50 cm / 19.68” – adjustable

Width: 44 cm / 17.32” – adjustable

Lampshade: ∅ 11 x 15 cm / 4.33 x 5.90”

Base: ∅ 16,2 cm / 6.37”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1x 60 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used. Not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1950s, 1960s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: To be determined.

Other versions: This 1950s Stilux desk lamp comes in several colours.

This lamp is made in the style of the Stilux brand. Some parts are the same, but that’s about it. This lamp is always advertised as a Stilux, but I haven’t seen any proof yet. Stilux unfortunately didn’t always label their lamps and often used cardboard labels on a cord, as so many brands did back then.

Stilux

Unfortunately, very little information is available about the Stilux lighting company. The company no longer exists. According to Ennio Fedele, a former Arredoluce dealer in Trieste, Stilux was founded shortly after the Second World War by Bruno Gatta (1904–1976) from Verona, who developed lamps for both domestic and industrial use. This is written in the book Arredoluce 1943–1987: Catalogue Raisonné. Bruno Gatta later founded Stilnovo in 1946 in Lainate, an industrial suburb of Milan. What happened next with Stilux and Stilnovo, and Gatta’s further role, remains a mystery for now. Fortunately, there is much more information about Stilnovo.

A company called Stilux also exists in Milan, but it has nothing to do with lighting: “Stilux is a company that deals with professional printing and paper converting solutions for communication.”

There was also a company named Sti-lux that produced lamps in the 1990s, but that firm no longer exists either.

There is also a company called Stil-lux Lampadari based in Florence. Founded in 1972 by Marco and Lucia Innocenti, this company is still active. It is responsible, among other things, for the glass-tube “chain” lamps designed by Marco Innocenti, which are almost always attributed to AV Mazzega from Murano and supposedly designed by Aldo Nason. Today, the company operates under the name Stillux and still produces these “Lighting Lab” lamps.

If you have more information about the original Stilux company, please let us know via the contact form and help improve this website’s accuracy.