Helo Leuchten 1950s Desk Lamp

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Helo Leuchten 1950s desk lamp round ringed brass base curved rod mushroom lampshade metal socket Germany

Lamps In The Movies

Het Geluk Komt Morgen (1958)

A Helo Leuchten desk lamp was used as a set decoration in the 1958 Belgian film Het Geluk Komt Morgen (Happiness Comes Tomorrow). A story about a professor who accidentally discovers a remedy that takes away all tiredness and gives new life force. Starring Charles Janssens, Anni Anderson and Dora van der Groen.

Ballon (2018)

A green Helo Leuchten desk lamp was used as a set decoration in the 2018 German film Ballon. A movie about two families from the GDR who flew to West Germany with a homemade hot-air balloon in 1979. It was used in an East German house what is very unlikely at that time. Helo was a West German lighting company and the East was communist and had his own lighting firms, cars, motorcycles and so on. Everything that was sold came from behind the Iron Curtain.

Au Service De La France (2015-2018)

A green Helo Leuchten desk lamp was used as a set decoration in the 2015 – 2018 French parody spy TV series Au Service De La France (A Very Secret Service). Starring Hugo Becker, Wilfred Benaïche and Christophe Kourotchkine. Many lamps were used, mostly French lamps. Here in episode 11, season 1.

Many thanks to Lluís fromEclectique Vintage for the photos.

Materials: Completely made of brass. Round ringed mushroom style lampshade and round curved base. Iron counterweight inside the base. Red felt on the bottom of the base. Curved brass rod. Some metal parts. Brass E27 socket.

Height: 38 cm / 14.96”

Lampshade: ∅ 31 cm / 12.20”

Base: ∅ 18 cm / 7.08”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 100 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
No specific type of light bulb is required; different types can be used.

Period: 1950s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: Helo Leuchten, Am Schwalbanger 48, 86633 Neuburg an der Donau, Germany.

Other versions: This Helo Leuchten 1950s desk lamp was made in several colours. Made in green, blue, brown, maroon, red and so on. Several comparable lamps were produced.

This desk lamp was a big succes for the company. It was made for a long time. Early versions like this one from the 50s have a brass socket. Later versions have a Bakelite socket.

Helo Leuchten

Helo traces its origins back to the 1930s, when Henry Gerhard (senior) ran an electrical business under the name Elektrogeschäft Helo in Breslau (then Germany; today Wrocław, Poland).

In 1945, the family fled west and restarted their lives in Neuburg an der Donau. Contemporary local reporting describes how the business was rebuilt after the war and how the name Helo was formed from Henry and Lothar (his son). In the immediate post-war years, the family reportedly began producing work and workshop lamps using available scrap materials from that period.

The company was officially registered in Neuburg in 1946. Starting with practical industrial and work lighting, the firm grew quickly and moved premises more than once before settling at its later address.

After the death of Henry Gerhard in 1964, Lothar Gerhard gradually shifted the business away from manufacturing and towards retail and trade. In 1980, the company joined the German expert retail group.

What happened later? A local newspaper report (23 October 2025) notes that the Expert-Helo store in Neuburg closed, and that the name “Helo” would disappear from the local business landscape with the current owner.

Note: According to several secondary sources, Gebr. Kaiser & Co. Leuchten KG (Lichttechnische Spezialfabrik, Neheim-Hüsten) later obtained the right to use the Helo name and to produce individual lamp models originally associated with Helo. These reportedly include the so-called “Commissaire” lamp (model 6631 Luxus). Variants of this design have in recent years reappeared in the collections of Lightyears, now part of Fritz Hansen. The precise legal and historical scope of these rights, however, remains unclear.

Lamps In The Movies

Stan & Ollie (2018)

A green Helo Leuchten 1950s desk lamp was used as a set decoration in the 2018 biographical comedy-drama film Stan & Ollie. Starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

Brazil (1985)

A Helo Leuchten 1950s desk lamp was used as a set decoration in the 1985 dystopian science fiction film Brazil, directed by Terry Gillian. Starring Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro & Katherine Helmond.