Louis Kalff NX 546 floor lamp (NX 546 E/00) in the 1964 – 1965 catalogue. Together with the NX 227 E/00 and the NX 109 E/00 floor lamps.
Louis Kalff NX 546 Floor Lamp
Materials: Round black painted metal base with a built-in switch. Cast iron counterweight inside the base. Black painted metal rod. Black painted round metal UFO lampshade with a ribbed acrylic diffuser. Brass coloured conical lampshade holder. 3 ornamental chrome screws on top. White painted round iron round grid on top (later versions have a plastic grid). Some metal and brass parts. Bakelite E27 socket.
Height: 148 cm / 58.26”
Width: ∅ 42 cm / 16.53”
Base: ∅ 26,5 cm / 10.43”
Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 2 x 60 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: Louis Christiaan Kalff.
Manufacturer: Koninklijke Philips N.V., Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Other versions: The Louis Kalff NX 546 floor lamp was made in a few variations and various lengths. A slightly longer white version can be found here on Vintageinfo.
In Belgium and France the Philips NX 546 floor lamp was named Marly, according to the 1965 catalogue. Most of the lamps made by Philips were made in Belgium.
Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Inspired by the fast-growing electricity industry and the promising results of Gerard Philips own experiments to make reliable carbon filaments, Frederik Philips (his father) financed the purchase of a modest factory in Eindhoven, The Netherlands in 1891. Frederik Philips was a Jewish banker based in Zaltbommel.
In 1895, after difficult first four years and near bankruptcy, Anton Philips joined the company. He was Gerard’s younger brother. With Anton’s arrival, the family business began to expand rapidly. The brothers changed their family business by founding the Philips corporation. They laid the foundations for the later electronics multinational.
In 1930 the first shaver of the Philips company was introduced and was simply called “The Philishave”.
A day before the German invasion in the Netherlands on 9 Mai 1940, the Philips family fled to the United States of America, taking a large amount of the company capital with them.
Operating from the US as the North American Philips Company, they managed to run the company throughout the war. After World War II the company was moved back to the Netherlands, with their headquarters in Eindhoven.
Acrylic: often named by its commercial name: Perspex, Plexiglas, Crylux, Acrylite, Lucite, is a thermoplastic.
Louis Christiaan Kalff
(Amsterdam, November 14th 1897 – Waalre, September 16th, 1976)
Louis Kalff was a pioneering industrial designer in the Netherlands during the first half of the 20th century. With a solid background including studies in sculpture, ceramics, furniture design and architecture, he began to work for the Philips company in 1924, department consumer electronics company marketing.
In 1929 he started a department for design of lighting products (LIBU – Lichtadviesbureau (Dutch for light consultancy). Louis Kalff was responsible for the lighting sections of the World Exhibitions in Barcelona, Antwerp and Paris.
As a freelancer he also designed posters and advertising for the Holland America Line, Calvé, Zeebad Scheveningen, Holland Radio and many others. He also designed book covers.
After World War II Louis Kalff kept himself active in industrial design for Philips. After his retirement in 1960, Louis Kalff stayed with Philips as a consultant and architect. In 1961 he was given the direction and execution of the Evoluon building in Eindhoven. It was the last work of the light architect who almost worked for forty years at the Philips group.
Links (external links open in a new window)
The complete history of the company on the Philips website
The Evoluon building – Wikipedia
Website of the Philips Museum in Eindhoven
Louis Kalff – Wikipedia (only in Dutch)