A larger swan neck light bracket based on a product from BTH in the 1920s. Assembled by ourselves from British and European made components. All are solid brass based either just polished, acid dipped antiqued or nickel plated. The shades are all manufactured from glass. As such, all parts are easily recyclable.
The swan neck wall light is a very simple, unadorned traditional design that has served as a candle sconce in the 18th century, through gas lights of the 19th century and then electric wall lights throughout the 20th century and into the 21st . It is understated in its simple, unadorned style whether used as shown in our photographs or, if you fancy, as a good uplighter. Its components are made, either, in Birmingham or Northern Ireland.
The glass shades add the character to the lamp and room. All are classic designs from history. Simple bells from the days of candle lighting. Prismatic designs by companies such as Holophane that were first used in gas lamps but that became extremely popular particularly between the wars. Other designs here reflect the mid-century aesthetic of simple shapes and lines. Some of the shades are manufactured in small workshops in Britain but most have been cast or blown in factories in Poland or in the traditional glass making region of Bohemia in western Czech Republic.
Choose whether to mount the lamp in a traditional way on an oak backplate (or pateras) that you can wax and polish or paint as you wish, or mount the light without for a slightly more modern touch.
We recommend the use of modern LED bulbs and, if used, there is no restriction on its power. If old, filament (incandescent) bulbs are used then a maximum of 40w is recommended.
Prismatic Shades - 'Holophane'
During the early 1890s Andre Blondel, a French engineer and physicist, known for his work in electrical research and an attache to the Lighthouses and Beacons Service, and Spiridion Psaroudaki, a Greek engineer, conceived an idea in a Paris laboratory to cover a glass globe with horizontal glass prisms properly positioned to control light. Patents were awarded to the two inventors in Europe and, upon the granting of US Patent 563836 in 1893, an American, Otis A. Mygatt was introduced to this work. He saw the potential for both domestic and industrial lighting and began to collaborate with Blondel and Psaroudaki.
The advantages of prismatic shades very quickly became clear to a European public demanding brighter light. The prisms effectively focused the dim bulbs output to produce clear, bright, clean illumination and proved very popular in shops, schools, factories, lighthouses and homes. So much so that Mygatt bought the worldwide rights to Blondel and Psaroudaki's invention in 1894 and formed the Holophane Glass Company in 1898 in London to capitalise on his purchase. That same year Mygatt transferred the company to No.1 Broadway, New York.
The term 'Holophane' was derived from the Greek - 'Holos' and 'Phanein' - to contrive the meaning 'to appear completely luminous'. In 1900 Holophane was manufacturing a large range of globes and reflectors and described them thus: [they are made of] 'perfectly clear glass with prisms scientifically constructed in such a manner as to both direct the rays of light in downward and outward directions'.
Height:26cm
Width:37cm
Projection:20cm