Helo Leuchten Brass Desk Lamp –Vintageinfo

Helo Leuchten brass desk lamp cream cast iron trapezoid base curved rod mushroom lampshade 1950s 1960s

Lamps in the movies

A Helo Leuchten brass desk lamp (another model) was used as a prop 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.

A Helo Leuchten brass desk lamp (another model in green) was used as a prop in the biographical comedy-drama film Stan & Ollie (2018). Starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

Many thanks to Jean-Pierre from K11design for the photos and the enthusiasm. You can find his shop over here on Ebay. And many thanks to Nadya form Licht.vondamals on Instagram for the help.

Helo Leuchten Brass Desk Lamp

Materials: Cream cast iron trapezoid base. Brass trapezoid decoration on top. Built-in switch. Curved brass rod, joint and parts. 2 brass ball nuts. Brass mushroom lampshade, partial cream painted. Painted white inside. Brass E27 socket.

Height: 35 cm / 13.77”

Lampshade: ∅ 29 cm / 11.41”

Base: 4 x 10 cm / 1.57 x 3.93”

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

Other versions: A comparable lampshade of this Helo Leuchten brass desk lamp was used for several other lamps. It exists in several colours as you can see in the movies.

Helo Leuchten

Helo was founded in the 1930s by Henry Gerhard Senior as Elektrogeschäfts Helo in the city of Breslau, at that time a German city. Today a Polish city named Wroclaw.

He fled to Neuburg with his family in 1945 with only a flashlight and some pictures. The three shops were destroyed in a night of bombing. The Helo Leuchten company was registered after World War 2 in 1946 in Neuburg (Neuburg an der Donau). Helo is derived from Henry and his son Lothar.

From old war material such as brass and aluminum from the airfield, he begins with the production of work lamps, today we say industrial lighting.

The company grows fast and moves twice in a couple of years to the address of today.

The company Gebr. Kaiser & Co. Leuchten KG, Lichttechnische Spezialfabrik from Neheim-Hüsten acquires the rights to use the Helo brand and individual models, such as the “commissaire” lamp, the 6631 Luxus. Today (2018) produced by Lightyears/Fritz Hansen.

Lothar Gerhard, who took over the company after Henry Gerhard’s death in 1964, sees himself forced to gradually abandon the factory and transform the company into the trading company it is today. Helo is now owned by Henry Gerhard Junior, his son and since 1980 a member of the Expert group.

Lamps in the movies!

A Helo Leuchten brass desk lamp (also a green one) was used as a prop in the German film Ballon from 2018. 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.