Cosack Crowfoot Desk Lamp

Materials: Cast iron black crowfoot base. Curved brass rod & joint. Conical black painted perforated aluminium lampshade. Some metal parts. Brass E14 socket.

Lampshade: ∅ 14 cm / 5.51”

Height: 30 cm / 11.81”

Electricity: 1 bulb E14, 1 x 40 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: Gebrüder Cosack – Gecos, Neheim-Hüsten, Germany.

Other versions: This Cosack crowfoot desk lamp exists in several colours. Many different lampshades were used. Also a bigger version exists. You can find it over here.

Louis Kalff

These lamps are often attributed to Dutch designer Louis Kalff, but Louis Kalff never designed lamps for the German Cosack company. Furthermore, Philips, the company Louis Kalff worked for in The Netherlands, never produced lamps with a crowfoot base. You will never find a crowfoot lamp in a Philips catalogue.

The Idman Oy company from Finland also produced a lamp with a crowfoot with a slightly different crowfoot base. It is also often attributed to Cosack or Louis Kalff. You can find it over here in the 1958 catalogue.

Cosack

The Gebrüder Cosack (Gecos) company was founded in 1833 as a metal processing plant in Neheim-Hüsten, Germany by Egon, Friedrich and Theodor Cosack together with Gottliebe Tappe. It was named Metallwarenfabrik Tapp + Cosack. In the beginning they made liturgical items, crosses and upholstery nails made of brass and they also produced kerosene lamps. Later the company came to the production of electric lamps.

In 1921 a cardboard factory was started, originally for packaging the Cosack Group‘s own products, including lights, nails, rivets and kitchen appliances.

After the Second World War Cosack pursued a modern direction. A best seller were copper lighting for restaurants. The company was declared bankrupt in 1984.

The cardboard factory still exists. The sixth generation is now running the business at the Cosack plant.

Best known designers: Gottfried Stürzenhofecker, K. H. Kinsky, Hans Wilfried Hegger, Hans-Joachim Groth, Burkhard Panteleit, Joachim O. Becker, Prof. Friedrich Becker, Waldemar Rothe and Jan Armgardt. 

Gebrüder Cosack (Gecos) received 15 iF Design Awards. 

Erwi

This lamp has a cast iron base made by Erwi. Erwi was a cast iron producer, not a lamp producer. The company made cast iron counterweights for several lighting companies. Erwi produced many items in cast iron, for instance also Christmas tree stands. In all probability a German company. The company no longer exists.

At least Kaiser Leuchten and Cosack Leuchten, both from Germany, used cast iron from Erwi for their lamps.