Tronconi Personaggi Table Lamp
VLM Components
The wiring, switch and socket are Italian and they are made by VLM Components from Buccinasco near Milan. The company became famous for the switches they produce since 1968, designed by Achille Castiglioni. You can find them over here. This Romolo Lanciani Tender table lamp is equipped with a black model 450 switch designed by Castiglioni. The 450 switch is still in production.
VLM Components is part of the Relco Group, founded in 1967. Today they are the owners of the brands Relco, Leuci, Relco Lighting, VLM and Segno.
Many thanks to Lluís from Eclectique Vintage for the photos.
Tronconi Personaggi Table Lamp
Materials: Red & white folded acrylic lampshade elongated slits. Bakelite E27 socket.
Height: 35 cm / 13.77”
Width: ∅ 15 cm / 5.90”
Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 60watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Anytypeof light bulb canbeused, not a specific one preferred.
Period: 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.
Designer: Federico Rezzonico & Lorenzo Carmellini.
Manufacturer: Tronconi s.r.l. via Bernini 5/7, 20094 Corsico, Milano, Italy.
Other versions: The Tronconi Personaggi table lamp exists in several colours and sizes. It also exists as a floor lamp. Personzggi is the Italian word for characters.
Federico Rezzonico & Lorenzo Carmellini
Unfortunately, I can’t find any information about the Italian design duo Federico Rezzonico & Lorenzo Carmellini. Do you have an idea? Please let us know through the contact form and help improve the websites exactitude. Your help is much appreciated.
Tronconi
Tronconi was founded in 1956 by Enrico Tronconi in Milan with its first headquarters at via Bernini 5/7, Corsico. Later the company moved to Via XX Settembre 154, Conegliano (TV).. Initially producing lamps in a more traditional style, Tronconi quickly embraced the new design impulses of the 1970s. The brand became known for its experimental approach, balancing technological innovation with strong aesthetics.
During the 1970s and 1980s Tronconi introduced some of its most famous creations. Tronconi designed Bambu’ floor lamp (1971), followed by the Il Personaggi lamp series (1972) by Federico Rezzonico and Lorenzo Carmellini. Silvio Coppola created the sculptural Mezzaluna Don table lamp (1974), while Cini Boeri designed the iconic Abat-Jour lamp series (1975). In the same year Ettore Arcelli and Cesare Pattarino presented the Bull floor and table lamp, and Giotto Stoppino followed with the Drop table lamp and floor lamp (1976). In the 1980s, Romolo Lanciani designed the Tender table and floor lamps (1980), Raul Barbieri created the Bulbone table lamp (1983), and later returned with the Suite table and floor lamp (1998). These lamps became symbols of Italian modern lighting design.
Over the years, Tronconi collaborated with many important Italian and international designers, keeping the catalog dynamic and innovative. In 2006 the historic brand was acquired by Kundalini, a Milan-based company founded in 1996 and specialized in contemporary lighting. Kundalini continued developing products in the style and spirit of Tronconi, securing its legacy within Italian design history.
Bambu’ – Bamboo
An attribution that often appears is that Enrico Tronconi designed the Bambu’ floor lamp for Vistosi. I have found no evidence to support this claim. On the contrary, the Bambu’ floor lamp appears in a Tronconi catalogue from the 1970s without a designer’s name, and it does not appear in any Vistosi catalogue. At best, Vistosi may have produced the glass components, but there is no documentation to confirm this. In that same Tronconi catalogue, all lamps with external designers are credited by name, while those developed by the internal design team are left unsigned. The Bambu’ (often spelled “Bamboo”) clearly falls into the latter category.
Designers
Giotto Stoppino, Bruno Gecchelin, Lorenzo Carmellini, Ettore Arcelli, Cesare Pattarino, Arik Levy, Silvio Coppola, Christophe Pillet, Cini Boeri, Raul Barbieri, Gabriella Montaguti, Giovanni Crosera, Giorgio Marianelli, Jean-Marie Massaud, Marco Sousa Santos, Mario Mazzer, Michael Sodeau, Palomba Serafini, Patricia Urquiola, Patrick Norguet, Romolo Lanciani, Theo Williams, and Tom Dixon.
Acrylic
Often named by its commercial name: Perspex, Plexiglas, Crylux, Acrylite, Lucite, is a thermoplastic.