Dame & Co (DACO)

Dame & Co, also known under the abbreviated brand name DACO, was a German lighting manufacturer based in Neheim-Hüsten, one of the historic centres of the German lighting industry.
The company was founded in 1893, as confirmed by period logos bearing the inscription “DACO – gegründet 1893”.

By the interwar period, Dame & Co had grown into a large-scale industrial manufacturer.
Company letterheads from 1935 identify the firm as a Beleuchtungskörper-Fabrik, with extensive banking, postal and telecommunication facilities, indicating nationwide commercial activity.
Dame & Co regularly exhibited at major trade fairs, including the Leipzig Trade Fair, one of the most important industrial exhibitions in Europe at the time.

The company produced a wide range of lighting fixtures and issued extensive catalogues.
Catalogue numbering shows a long continuity of production, with main catalogues and supplements already exceeding number 30 by the mid-1930s, and continuing into the post-war decades.

In the 1950s, Dame & Co received international recognition when the company was awarded two iF Design Awards (1957), one for a table lamp (this one?) and one for a television lamp (Fernsehleuchte).
The iF documentation confirms the manufacturer and location, although no designer names are listed.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Dame & Co also embraced modern materials.
The company introduced lamp shades made from a proprietary fibreglass-reinforced material marketed under the name POLYDAM.
According to catalogue descriptions, POLYDAM shades were produced using PALATAL, a synthetic resin supplied by BASF, combined with glass fibre.
These shades were promoted as durable, heat-resistant, anti-static, colourfast and easy to clean.

Many Dame & Co lamps were sold without explicit designer attribution and were distributed through various retailers and wholesalers, both in Germany and abroad.
As a result, numerous models are today frequently misattributed to better-known designers or manufacturers.
Original catalogue documentation, however, clearly places these lamps within the production of Dame & Co / DACO.

The company no longer exists, and the exact date at which it ceased operations remains unclear.
Nevertheless, surviving catalogues and lamps demonstrate that Dame & Co played a significant role in German industrial lighting production from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century.

1950s Fibreglass Tripod Floor Lamp – Polydam

Points worth knowing about POLYDAM ®

The raw material used for POLYDAM-Shades is PALATAL, a product of BASF, to which fibre glass, a product of Messrs. GEVETEX, is added and high quality colouring material.
PALATAL is today used in many branches of industry – eg. in the car industry also shipbuilding.

POLYDAM-Shades will not break or damage easily.
POLYDAM-Shades are anti-static.
POLYDAM-Shades allow plenty of light to be used.
POLYDAM-Shades have been tested for long periods at a temperature of 120°.
POLYDAM-Shades will not alter in shape or colour due to dampness or temperature changes.
POLYDAM-Shades are available in up to date colours.
POLYDAM-Shades radiate a note of comfort.
POLYDAM-Shades can be easily cleaned.

In reply to a question regarding cleaning, the technical laboratories of Messrs. HENKEL & CIE., DÜSSELDORF, gave us the following information.

“After thoroughly testing, we can recommend using the detergent CLIN – a product of HENKEL research – for cleaning POLYDAM shades.

Please use CLIN in the required concentration according the directions on the packet, using either a cold or lukewarm solution.
On no account should hot water be used.”