Louis Poulsen Doo-Wop Pendant Lamp – Navy Pendant

Materials: Polished curved brass lampshade, painted white on the inside. Round white lacquered metal conical reflector inside. Some metal parts. Porcelain E27 socket.

Cord Length: 60 cm / 23.62’’

Height: 24,5 cm / 9.64”

Width: ∅ 28,3 cm / 11.14”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 100 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1950s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: Henning Klok in collaboration with Søværnets Bygningsdistrikt (Navy building district).

Manufacturer: Louis Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Other versions: The Louis Poulsen Doo-Wop pendant lamp exists in several colours. A black, brass, white, copper and chromed version is since 2012 back in production and named Doo-Wop. The original name is Navy Pendant (Søværnspendlen) and it was produced by Louis Poulsen until the 1980s.

This pendant lamp is often attributed to Jørn Utzon. Jørn Utzon designed a similar pendant lamp, but it was for Nordisk Solar Compagni that he designed his Søværnspendlen. The lamp exists also in a much bigger version. It is 43 cm / 16.92” wide, as you can see below.

The Navy pendant lamps were sold in the United States by Prescolite. Today Prescolite is part of LBC Lighting. Probably also other companies sold them.

Henning Klok

For the moment, no information can be found about the designer, unfortunately.

Søværnets Bygningsdistrikt

The Søværnets Bygningsdistrikt (Navy building district) was first named Søværnets Bygningsvæsen ( the Danish Navy Building Agency). It was a unit of the Danish defence that led to the construction of the army’s buildings, often in collaboration with civil academic architects. In 1952, the unit was merged with the Navy’s Building Department and the Coast Guard’s Maintenance Department in the new unit of the Armed Forces Building Service.

Louis Poulsen

Louis Poulsen & CO A/S is a Danish lighting manufacturer that was founded in 1874 by Ludvig R. Poulsen as a wine importing business. 4 years later the firm closed down. However, in 1892 Ludvig Poulsen opened his second business, this time selling tools and electrical supplies.

Two years later in 1896 his nephew Louis Poulsen started to work for the company. After the dead of Ludvig in 1906, Louis takes over the business.
In 1911 Sophus Kaastrup-Olsen becomes a partner in the firm and the name changes in Louis Poulsen & Co A/S. Six years later Sophus Kaastrup-Olsen becomes the sole owner of the company.

The best known designers that worked for Louis Poulsen are Poul Henningsen, Arne Jacobsen, Verner Panton, Vilhelm Lauritzen, Shoichi Uchiyama, Andreas Hansen, Bent Gantzel-Boysen and of course many others. Bent Gantzel-Boysen was head of Louis Poulsen’s own design team in the 70s.