Philips Tilly Desk Lamp

Materials: Round mat black painted base. Iron counterweight inside the base. Felt on the bottom of the base. Mat black painted tubular lampshade, aluminium colour inside. Chromed rod. Long metal gooseneck in a black plastic tube. Plastic socket.

Height: 52 cm /  20.47” (adjustable)

Lampshade: ∅ 5 x 21 cm / 1.96 x 8.26”

Rod + Gooseneck: 62 cm / 24.40”

Base: ∅ 20 cm / 7.87”

Electricity: 1 bulb PL, 9 watt, 220 volt.
A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) model PL-tube should be used. Today also a led version of this type of light bulb is in production. This desk lamp has the ballast outside on the plug. It has a wire of 3 meters, 118.11”.

Period: 1980s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: Koninklijke Philips N.V., Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

Other versions: This Philips Tilly desk lamp exists in several colours.

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 May 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.

Compact fluorescent lamps

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) came on the market in 1981. Philips introduced two different versions and they are still in production today. The PL stands for Pi Lamp because the two connected tubes resembled the Greek character.