Temde Sisal Desk Lamp

Materials: Round wood base & striped rod. Folded copper tube and parts. Conical sisal rope lampshade with a white painted metal frame. Galvanized metal E27 lamp socket.

Height: 37 cm / 14.56”

Width: ∅ 34 cm / 13.38”

Base: ∅ 19 cm / 7.48”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 100 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: Theodor Müller & Co. Temde-Werk, Detmold, Germany, Switzerland.

Other versions: This Temde sisal desk lamp exists in several variations. Made with another base, a gooseneck and other lampshades. The strange thing is, they all have the same model numbers: 31 or 33. This one is 31.

Sisal

Sisal is a tropical fiber from the agave sisalana and is mainly used for rope, brushes and carpeting and dartboards. 

Temde-Leuchten

Temde-Leuchten and Temde AG was a German-Swiss manufacturer of lighting fixtures, headquartered in Detmold (North Rhine-Westphalia) and subsidiary in Sevelen, in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Fritz Müller (1889-1964), son of a furniture maker from Lipperland founded the company in 1911 under the name Temde, abbreviated by Theodor Müller, father of the company founder.

In the first years, only wooden lamps were produced. In addition to residential lighting, Temde also produced special products for public facilities and commercial establishments, such as hotels, restaurants, public places and churches. 

Since the 1930s, Temde AG has also been producing lighting elements made of modern materials such as chrome and glass, but wood remained the main material.

In the post-war period, the production of wood-based materials became the basis for new lighting concepts. The use of pressed wood made it possible to build entirely new collections.

Although Fritz Müller expanded the operational infrastructure and his company offered 250 basic models in the mid-1950’s, Temde did not profit so much from the general economic boom of the 1950s. 

In the 1970s, the metal, glass and plastic materials became more and more important.

Temde filed for bankruptcy in 1986. The Swiss part, Temde AG was deleted from Switzerland’s commercial register in 2000.

Some designers that worked for the company are: Charles Keller, Max Rutz, Wilhelm Vest, H. Zehnder, Eva Renée Nele and many others.