Red 1970s Desk Lamp

Materials: Red painted metal (iron) round base with a built-in switch. Cast iron counterweight inside the base. Metal adjustable goose-neck, black flexible tube. Some plastic & chrome parts. Red rod and tube. Red conical lampshade, painted white inside. Bakelite E27 socket.

Height: 38 cm / 14.96” – adjustable

Lampshade: ∅ 20 cm / 7.87”

Base: ∅ 13,7 cm / 5.39”

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. However a small E27 bulb gives the best result.

Period: 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: Massive, Mortsel, Kontich and Wommelgem, Belgium.

Other versions: This Red 1970s desk lamp exists in white en was in all probability also made in other colours. A white version of this lamp is also on Vintageinfo (link below)

This lamp is in a much better quality made than we’re used to from the Massive Lighting company. So in all probability this lamp was produced for the Belgian lamp company and not by Massive. Massive tried to be as cheap as possible. Workforce and materials were inexpensive at that time in East Germany. This desk lamp was also sold by the French company Aluminor. Sometimes you find them in France with an Aluminor label.

The plug is of this desk lamp is made by Krania. Krania is a former East German plug and socket company from Kranichfeld. The Krania company still exists.

Massive

Massive was in origin a bronze foundry and they produced mainly candlesticks, crucifixes and chandeliers in Wilrijk near Antwerp, Belgium. The company was founded in 1926 by Pieter-Jozef De Jaeck. His son Eddy De Jaeck was responsible for the huge expansion of the company in the 1970s. But it were his sons, Piet and Jan De Jaeck who made Massive a true multinational. Thus, they moved production to Eastern Europe and China.

In the 1980s Massive became the leading brand in Europe. In 2002, the brothers left the company to the investment fund CVC Capital Partners, for allegedly more than 250 million euros. Since 2008 the company is owned by Philips and the name of the shops is changed into Light Gallery.

When the takeover by Philips was announced in November 2006 Massive commercialized more than 10.000 lighting products under brand names such as Massive, TRIO and Lirio. The group had about 5.000 employees worldwide and was active in 70 countries.

Massive sold many lamps made by others. Peill + Putzler from Germany and Yamada Shomei from Japan produced lamps for Massive, to name a few. Many other lighting companies did.

KRANIA Kabel-Stecker GmbH

KRANIA Kabel-Stecker GmbH was founded in the 1970s in the town Kranichfeld. Kranichfeld is a town in the Weimarer Land district, in Thuringia, Germany.