Tivoli lamps by the master of light

Poul Henningsen (known as PH) held the position as in-house designer at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen during the wartime years of German occupation. His lighting designs includes a series of ingenious Tivoli lamps, such as his wartime blackout lamp from 1941 that featured a vertical light beam that could not be detected by overhead aircraft and which therefore allowed the gardens to stay open until midnight.

The elegant Tivoli lamp on auction was designed in 1949 as a further development of the Spiral lamp that Poul Henningsen originally created for the Main Hall at the University of Aarhus in 1943. The aim was to create a lamp that would provide ambiance lighting without the naked bulb shining in the eye. He described this task in the LP NYT lighting magazine with the following words:

“When I was commissioned to design new lighting around the Tivoli Lake it hit me that a slowly rotating spiral lamp would give a discreet and fine effect. Discretion is important because too much rotation would make people feel drunk ...”

The subtle play of light of the Tivoli Lamp is rendered by the visual effect of the spiral shade rotating in the opposite direction of a red spiral painted on the internal acrylic tube. This playful lighting was intended to reflect the festive atmosphere of the popular pleasure park. After almost 60 years by the Tivoli Lake, the lamps have now been replaced by replicas since the original lamps had, over time, stopped rotating to simply offer fixed lighting.

Poul Henningsen’s lamp designs (PH lamps) illuminate homes, offices and ambiances around the world and many have stood the test of time to become classic collector’s items. With the Tivoli lamp you not only acquire a rare lamp that will bring friendly-to-the-eye illumination to outdoor ambiances, you also purchase a unique classic design and celebrated symbol of Danish design heritage.

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