Louis Kalff Bijou Table Lamp – Original box
Lamps in the movies
A Louis Kalff Bijou table lamp was used as a prop in the 2017 Belgian television crime series Unité 42 (Unit 42). Starring Patrick Ridremont, Constance Gay and Tom Audenaert. Unfortunately the silver tipped bulb is missing. Many other lamps appear in the series.
Links (external links open in a new window)
The complete history of the company on the Philips website
The Evoluon building – Wikipedia
Website of the Philips Museum in Eindhoven
Louis Kalff – Wikipedia (only in Dutch)
Unit 42 (2017) TV series – Wikipedia
Unit 42 (2017) TV series – IMDb
Vintageinfo
Many thanks to Ger for the photo of the slightly different version.
Louis Kalff Bijou Table Lamp
Materials: Gold painted tripod base made of brass. Some brass parts. Dark green painted conical plastic stem and socket holder. Dark green metallic painted aluminium mushroom lampshade with a centre hole. Painted white on the inside. Bakelite E27 socket.
Total height: 31 cm / 12.20”
Width: 28,5 cm / 11.22”
Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 75 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used. But preferably a silver tipped light bulb.
Period: 1950s, 1960s – Mid-Century Modern.
Designer: Louis Christiaan Kalff.
Manufacturer: Philips, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Other versions: This Louis Kalff Bijou table lamp exists in some slight variations. Below a slightly different version. It looks taller, but it is als 31 / 12.20” cm high.
The later editions of this Bijou table lamp from the mid sixties have slight differences in the lampshade and the base, as you can see below. The Bijou table or desk lamp exists in many colours and some slight variations.
This model appears in catalogues from the 50s and early 60s.
A similar version with a brass rod in stead of the conical middle part is named Minou S, the later version Minou 69.
This table or desk lamp was made in the lighting factory of the company in Turnhout, Belgium. It is located some 40 km/25 miles from the headquarters in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Inspired by the fast-growing electricity industry and the promising results of Gerard Philips own experiments to make reliable carbon filaments, Frederik Philips (his father) financed the purchase of a modest factory in Eindhoven, The Netherlands in 1891. Frederik Philips was a Jewish banker based in Zaltbommel.
In 1895, after difficult first four years and near bankruptcy, Anton Philips joined the company. He was Gerard’s younger brother. With Anton’s arrival, the family business began to expand rapidly. The brothers changed their family business by founding the Philips corporation. They laid the foundations for the later electronics multinational.
In 1930 the first shaver of the Philips company was introduced and was simply called “The Philishave”.
A day before the German invasion in the Netherlands on 9 Mai 1940, the Philips family fled to the United States of America, taking a large amount of the company capital with them. Operating from the US as the North American Philips Company, they managed to run the company throughout the war. After World War II the company was moved back to the Netherlands, with their headquarters in Eindhoven.
Translated text from the catalogue
BIJOU table lamp on a gilded tripod. Rod, lamp holder and lampshade of blue green metal. Comes with cable, plug and switch. Used with a silver-cupped lamp 100 Watt. 395 F with lamp.
Louis Christiaan Kalff (Amsterdam, November 14th 1897 – Waalre, September 16th, 1976)
Louis Kalff was a pioneering industrial designer in the Netherlands during the first half of the 20th century. With a solid background including studies in sculpture, ceramics, furniture design and architecture, he began to work for the Philips company in 1924, department consumer electronics company marketing.
In 1929 he started a department for design of lighting products (LIBU – Lichtadviesbureau (Dutch for light consultancy). Louis Kalff was responsible for the lighting sections of the World Exhibitions in Barcelona, Antwerp and Paris.
As freelancer he also designed posters and advertising for the Holland America Line, Calvé, Zeebad Scheveningen, Holland Radio and others. Louis Kalff also designed book covers.
After World War II Kalff kept himself active in industrial design for Philips. After his retirement in 1960, Louis Kalff stayed with Philips as a consultant and architect. In 1961 he was given the direction and execution of the Evoluon building in Eindhoven. It was the last work of the light architect who almost worked for forty years at the Philips group.
Louis Kalff Bijou Table Lamp – Other Version
1960s, 1970s edition. Different lampshade and another base. You can find it over here on Vintageinfo: Louis Kalff Bijou Desk Lamp
