Ennio Lucini Cespuglio table lamp in the 1970 Design House catalogue.
VLM Components
All the electric parts of this lamp were made in by the VLM Components company from Buccinasco, near Milan in Italy. Today VLM Components is owned by Relco. It is one of the biggest suppliers of switches, cords and plugs in Europe. VLM Components became famous for the switches they produce that were designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1968. The switch on this lamp is model 450, you can find it over here.
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Ennio Lucini Cespuglio Table Lamp
Materials: Cast aluminium round base with elongated slots. 16 moulded clear luminous red acrylic slats lampshade. Bakelite E14 socket.
Height: 32 cm / 12.59”
Width: ∅ 40 cm / 15.74”
Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 60 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.
Period: 1960s, 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.
Designer: Ennio Lucini (1934-1997).
Manufacturer: Harvey Guzzini DH (Design House), via Mariano Guzzini, 37. 62019, Recanati, Italy. Today named iGuzzini.
Other versions: The Ennio Lucini Cespuglio table lamp exists in several colours.
Designed in 1969, in production from 1970 until 1974.
These table lamps were released under the Design House label. It was used for a short time by Harvey Guzzini in the late 1960s, early 1970s. Also a store was opened in 1969 in the center of Milan under the name Harvey Guzzini-DH.
The complete name of the lamp is Cespuglio di Gino. It was an homage of Ennio Lucini to Gino Marotta, another designer. Marotto displayed acrylic flowers in the Galleria dell’ Ariete (Aries Gallery) in Milan in 1965 as an artificial reconstruction of nature. Cespuglio is the Italian word for bush.
The idea for the lamp itself came from cardboard models of trees, stars and suns by Balla, at the Galeria l’ Obelisco (Obelisk Gallery) in Rome.
Ennio Lucini
Ennio Lucini was born in 1934. The industrial designer received several prizes, among them the golden compass. He designed, among others, a pressure cooker, a periscope style clock, several board games, drinking glasses and a few lamps. This lamp is his most famous. He designed for Gabbianelli, Barazzoni, Franco Pozzi Ceramica, Ponta di Brera, Design House and many others. Ennio Lucini passed away in 1997.
iGuzzini
iGuzzini illuminazione was established in June 1958 by Raimondo Guzzini (born 1928) under the name Harvey.
Harvey is derived from the famous movie ‘Harvey’ with James Stuart and the invisible rabbit Harvey from 1950.
The initial production of enamelled copper objects was supplemented by decorative luminaires. In the early sixties it became a family business when his 5 brothers joined the company.
In 1962 Luigi Massoni was attracted to lead the design team. He worked for Fratelli Guzzini and Harvey Guzzini until 1976. Luigi Massoni designed many iconic lamps in that period.
The company still exists and changed the name in 1974 into iGuzzini and in 1981 to iGuzzini illuminazione.
Designers
Harvey Guzzini – iGuzzini – Design House designers are, among others: Giò Ponti, Luigi Massoni, Rodolfo Bonetto, Bruno Gecchelin, Renzo Piano, Norman Foster, Gae Aulenti, Piero Castiglioni, Jean-Michel Wilmotte, Mario Cucinella, Dean Skira, Renzo Piano, Massimo Iosa Ghini, Enzo Eusebi, Massimiliano e Doriana Fuksas, Jean-Marie Duthilleul, Maurici Ginès, Maurici Ginès, Roberto Pamio, Paul Andreau, Felice Ragazzo, Giuseppe De Goetzen, Franco Bresciani, Carlo Urbinati, Giuseppe Cormio, Ermanno Lampa, Sergio Brazzoli and of course Studio D.A.
MEBLO
Harvey Guzzini lamps were also sold under the brand name MEBLO. MEBLO is a Slovenian (Yugoslavia) company.
The MEBLO factory was founded in 1948 when Gorizia craftsmen joined forces and founded the Furniture Factory, later named Edvard Kardelj (communist leader and national hero of World War II). In 1950 the name changed in MEBLO.
At first, they made exclusive furniture, which was later supplemented with upholstered furniture, lighting, plastic and mattresses.
MEBLO also produced plastic chairs and tables, plasticised metal garden tables and chairs, plastic chairs for sports halls, plastic flower beds, mirrors and plastic bathroom equipment (design by Luigi Massoni), wooden set of club tables, shelves, buffet carts and mirrors (design by Gianfranco Frattini).
The last lamps were produced around 1990, 1991 until the break-up of Yugoslavia.
Today the company is named MebloJOGI. It only produces mattresses for beds.
Sijaj Hrastnik
Before Meblo started to produce Harvey Guzzini lamps, Sijaj Hrastnik, another Slovenian company sold them in Yugoslavia.
Acrylic
Often named by its commercial name: Perspex, Plexiglas, Crylux, Acrylite, Lucite, is a thermoplastic.
Vintageinfo Links
Table lamp in this style:
Orange acrylic radial table lamp
Design House, Harvey Guzzini, iGuzzini lamps
Logo used between 1959 and 1964. Inspired by the 1950 film “Harvey“, starring James Stewart.
Logo used between 1965 and 1977. This logo was designed by Luigi Massoni.
The architect Massoni was invited to work with Harvey as the company’s art director, a move that gave further impetus to the idea of collaborating with designers.
Between 1967 and 1971, Ennio Lucini designed the catalogue for the DH (Design House) brand, under which lamps for home lighting were marketed.
Logo used from 1974 until today, designed by Advema G&R Associati. This logo embodied the company’s entire output, which was marketed under other brands such as DH, Doma and Atelier.
It was during this period that the company began making technical products. Spot and flood lights in particular.