Description
The icon of industrial design, the French Jielde lamp from the 1950s. Designed by Jean-Louis Domecq in the Peugeot factory. But let’s go back to the end of the 1940s. The history of the lamp is interesting because this project was created by chance and was not intended to become an icon of French design. Domecq was an engineer, working at night on new technical solutions, improving mechanical shortcomings and introducing innovative solutions. He thought very innovative, but for this he needed good lighting. In almost twilight, he had to strain his eyes over the detailed technical drawings. Until he finally decided to design and build a lamp for himself. He wanted lighting for work that he could manipulate freely to adapt to his own needs. And although in 1950 the creator did not know about it yet, he created a design symbol recognizable all over the world. The Jielde brand was founded in 1953 in Lyon, and the name comes from the first letters of the name and surname of the designer.
The lamp, created in the Peugeot factory, has articulated arms on which a movable, semicircular lampshade with a characteristic metal halo is mounted. Due to the lack of synthetic insulation materials, many cable break accidents occurred in the 1950s. Therefore, the Jielde lamp has been equipped with special hinges that enable the connection of individual parts without an internal cable. This allowed the lamp to rotate freely, a method that was patented by Domecq in later years. The movable parts of the lamp have a range of movement of 180 °, and the frame can fold into an infinite number of sections. For stability, it is made of heavy metal and is attached to the table top with a vice. In this model, however, it is possible to disconnect the clamp and install it directly to the wall. Then the lamp plays the role of a wall lamp. The characteristic, resilient shape and the metallic lampshade have been shaped to give a stream of concentrated light. The thread of the fitting is for a standard E27 bulb.
To this day, Jielde lamps are produced in the Lyon factory in the same way as it was 60 years ago. However, this is not mass production, only approx. 20,000 jobs are created annually. unique copies. They are all signed with an individual number, making each one unique. Our lamp was created at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. It has an original glassy varnish with a pearl, pastel green color. Numerous dents, abrasions, bruises and scratches give it even more industrial class.
