Vintage View: Anglepoise 75

IT’S hard to imagine that an athletic little table lamp based on the suspension of a car could threaten the tweedy moral fibre of the post-war BBC.

In 1949, the intimate pool of light honed by the Anglepoise lamp was deemed likely to produce ‘furtive’ and ‘degenerative’ programming ideas amongst the writing staff of the Variety Department. Unless another less shady character was illuminating the room, the Anglepoise was prohibited as a conduit of ‘smut’ and’ innuendo’ by Michael Standing’s infamous Green Book.

Well, now you really want one, don’t you? The skeletal elegance and mechanical talent of the Anglepoise lamp depends above all on the design of its springs. In 1932, automotive engineer, George Carwardine having come up with a new spring system which delivered a constant, steady tension, was unsure of its application.

He suggested it for use in a work lamp that could be articulated in any direction, be positioned with the touch of a finger to the shade, and then hold steadily to the split centimetre where needed. A keen beam was achieved by the metal bonnet shaped industrial shade, another Carwardine evolution. With precise focus on any work, a cheaper 25w bulb could do everything needed of a 60w, over a tabletop.

Herbert Terry brought the lamp to the domestic market in 1935 in the iconic Anglepoise 1227 with its dandyish Art Deco three-tier stepped base married to the modernist stripped-down chassis of a factory floor servant and three springs.

In 1969, the Anglepoise 75 with its fluted shade and round base evolved from the latest two-tier 1227, was groovy enough for modern tastes while retaining the performance which had made the lamp a favourite for over 33 years. Anglepoise is still in business today, and you can buy a lamp designed to the same specifications as the two-tier 1227 reissued in 2012 for its 75th anniversary. A new 1227 in black is priced at €205 and a re-designed black 75 (2004) at €140, (www.industrydesign.ie).

If you want a vintage original Anglepoise, the internet offers hundreds of lamps, but be wary. Any shed-dweller with a few tools can lever together a failing old lamp and present it on eBay. Examine the seller’s feedback on vintage luminaries. Frankenstein lamps put together with different parts are acceptable if the parts match and the assemblage is sensitively done. New springs are commonplace as they do lose their ‘ba-boing’ over the years and new cloth wiring is available. The supporting fork should be stamped with the ‘ The ‘Anglepoise’ Patented UK & Abroad’. Some enamelled varieties come in their honestly worn paint, while the most expensive examples will be re-chromed, including original springs, re-wired and have an aluminium shade re-polished to a high shine.

Anglepoise bases are heavy. The 1227 weighs in at about 4.8kgs. This pushes up the postage costs of even a modest dinged example in need of restoration. A prime piece from the 40s or 50s with a rolled edge shade will set you back around €250 plus p&p, with 1227 lamps to restore, from about €90. Three-tier bases command a premium with the 1227s, as they date to the early 1930s. Small pierced shades are early and highly sought after.

As with any elderly lighting, if you have any doubts about the wiring of the fitting (and this is a metal lamp and housing), have it checked by a RECI registered electrician for ultimate peace of mind.