Tripod Rocket Floor Lamp

Tripod rocket floor lamp 3 conical teak legs base yellow fibreglass tube lampshade 1960s 1970s Sheerlite United Kingdom

Tripod rocket floor lamp 3 conical teak legs base yellow fibreglass tube lampshade 1960s 1970s Sheerlite United Kingdom top view

Tripod rocket floor lamp black round floor switch wire & plug 1960s 1970s Sheerlite United Kingdom

Tripod Rocket Floor Lamp – Mrs. Brown’s Boys BBC TV Series

Many thanks to Ger for the pictures.

Materials: Teak tripod base. 6 ornamental screws. Some metal parts. Orange-yellow fibreglass tubular lampshade. 3 Bakelite E27 sockets.

Height: 125 cm / 44.48”

Width: ∅ 22 cm / 8.66”

Electricity: 3 bulbs E27, 3 x 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: Sheerlite Shades Limited, Albert Drive, Sheerwater, Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom.

Other versions: This fibreglass rocket floor lamp comes in several sizes, colours and versions; white, blue, green, small, big… Also produced with E27 lamp sockets. The bigger version of this one (145 cm/57.08”) uses 3 light bulbs.

Often described as a lamp from Denmark but this rocket lamp was made in the UK in the late 1950s and 1960s: the Space Age. Rocket lamps were made everywhere at that time. The fibreglas tubes of these Sheerlite lamps were made in the Czech Republic by Novoplast.

These rocket floor lamps were sold by the post-order company Argos in the 1970s. Argos was founded in 1973 and still exists. Also British Home Stores (BHS) and Habitat sold these rocket floor lamps in the UK.

Sheerlite

Sheerlite was a British lighting brand active mainly during the 1960s and 1970s, documented under the company name Sheerlite Shades Limited, based in Sheerwater, Woking (Surrey, England). The company specialised in modern decorative lighting and became particularly known for its use of fibreglass (glass fibre), a material that allowed for lightweight, sculptural forms with good light diffusion.

Sheerlite’s range included floor lamps, table lamps, wall lights and ceiling fittings, produced in multiple sizes and colours. The lighting was marketed as durable and non-flammable and was distributed through leading British department stores and large catalogue retailers such as Argos, placing the brand in the better mid-market rather than the high-end design sector.

While Sheerlite did produce a number of distinctive designs, the company clearly operated in a trend-driven and commercial context. Alongside original models, its catalogue also featured lamps closely related in appearance to popular Scandinavian and Italian designs of the period, including forms reminiscent of contemporary style lighting. Similarities with designs by other European manufacturers suggest that Sheerlite also acted as an importer and rebrander, rather than functioning exclusively as an in-house design studio.

The most recognisable and widely distributed model associated with the brand is this fibreglass “rocket” floor lamp, produced in several variants and finishes and frequently encountered today. Despite its popularity, no specific designer attribution for this or other Sheerlite models has so far been reliably documented.

Sheerlite was a member of the British Creators Group, positioning the company within the wider post-war modern design movement in the UK, even if its output remained largely commercial and catalogue-oriented. The company no longer exists.

Habitat

Habitat Retail Ltd, trading as Habitat is a retailer of household furnishings. Sir Terence Conran founded the company in London in 1964. The business expanded quickly and in 1973 the first store in Europe was opened in Paris, France. The company expanded and merged frequently over the years. In 2011 it almost went bankrupt.

Novoplast

Novoplast is a company from the Czech Republic. The company was founded in 1947 and is specialised in glass-fibre reinforced plastics. The company still exists.

Lamps In The Movies

Made In Dagenham (2010)

Another model of a tripod rocket floor lamp was used as a set decoration in the 2010 British film Made In Dagenham. A dramatisation of the 1968 strike at the Ford car plant in the city of Dagenham, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.

Mrs. Brown’s Boys

A tripod rocket floor lamp, an orange version, was used as a set decoration in the BBC ‘s Mrs. Brown’s Boys. A British and Irish television sitcom, created by and starring Irishman Brendan O’Carroll. You can see it in the video below.