Aloys Ferdinand Gangkofner ERCO pendant lamp

Materials: Clear plastic (acrylic) globe lampshade. Stainless steel clamp. Some plastic and metal parts. Silver painted Bakelite E27 socket.

Cord length: 65 cm / 25.59”

Height: 29 cm / 11.41”

Width: ∅ 33 cm / 12.99”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, max 100 watt, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred. But a clear light bulb gives the best result.

Period: 1960, 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: Aloys Ferdinand Gangkofner (1920-2003).

Manufacturer: ERCO GmbH, Lüdenscheid, Germany.

Other versions: Several designs were used for this Aloys Ferdinand Gangkofner ERCO pendant lamp. Often named Diamond lamp. Gangkofner designed many lamps with a repeating motif. This lamp, model 2106 was also made in white, as you can see in the catalogue pictures. The white one is model 2107.

1967 award “Die Gute Industrieform” (Good Industrial Design).

Aloys Ferdinand Gangkofner

Aloys Ferdinand Gangkofner was born in Reichenberg, Germany in 1920. He studied at the Staatliche Fachschule für Glasindustrie (State Technical College for the Glass Industry) in Zwiesel from 1934 until 1935. He worked as a freelancer for Peill + Putzler from 1953 until 1958. Several of his designs were also sold by Raak Amsterdam, but were produced by Peill + Putzler.

Later he started to work as an independent for, among others, ERCO. He was the first “real” designer that worked for the company. Gangkofner also designed lamps in the 1960s for Reininghaus & Co from Lüdenscheid, Germany which won several iFdesign awards. He died in Munich (München), Germany in 2003.

ERCO

ERCO was founded in 1934 by Arnold Reininger (1907-2003), Karl Reeber and Paul Buschhaus in Lüdenscheid, Germany. The company name ERCO represents a phonetic abbreviation of the founding name “Reininghaus & Co.“.

The company is still in family ownership. During the early years, ERCO produced parts for lamps. In particular a spring-supported retracting mechanism for pendant lamps.

In the 1930s the industrial production of complete luminaires was started. After the Second World War Arnold Reininger and Karl Reeber continued the company, co-founder Paul Buschhaus had died in the war.

Other famous designers that worked for the ERCO company are Roger Tallon, Ettore Sottsass, Emilio Ambasz, Shiro Kuramata, Giancarlo Piretti, Dieter Witte,  Yves Béhar, Knud Holscher, Franco Clivio, Naoto Fukasawa and many others.

The company was awarded many times thanks to these great artists and the vision of the ERCO company. ERCO received 88 iF Design Awards. 

Acrylic: often named by its commercial name: Perspex, Plexiglas, Crylux, Acrylite, Lucite, is a thermoplastic.