Anglepoise: Native to Portsmouth
From a long-standing obsession with lever sprung mechanisms, George Carwardine was a practising automotive engineer in the early 1900’s.
His focus for car suspension systems and the impeccably timed bankruptcy of his employer gave Carwardine the opportunity to design what became the blueprint for a British task lamp icon; the Anglepoise® Original™ 1227.
Born from the pedigree of automotive industrial UK engineering, the ‘1227’ was a three spring task lamp with unrivalled mobility. The cantilevered sprung mechanism enabled multi-dimensional movement across its given work surface.
This new approach meant the user could easily reposition the metal spun shade over their work, held in equilibrium by the tension of springs. By 1934 this superbly adjustable, ultimately utilitarian design paved the way for what became George Carwardine’s long-lasting legacy. Anglepoise® had been born.
Undeniably, the 1227 model is a British icon; the keystone amongst what is now an extensive range of lighting solutions offered by Anglepoise®. Since then, modern permutations have been developed with contemporary options such as energy efficient LED bulbs. Interestingly, Anglepoise® has participated in collaborations with famous British designers such as Margaret Howell and Paul Smith.
In 2005, Anglepoise® was approached by the Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre with an idea for an oversized version of the Original 1227™ lamp. The writer had always used the original lamp design inside his small wooden writing cabin. Celbrating his written works for the Big Friendly Giant, Anglepoise® obliged to create just three models of this oversized version. In great response, each model was instantly sold. One lamp went to the Centre itself, another was purchased in a charity auction by the acclaimed film director Tim Burton and the third was exhibited at the design trade show ‘100% design’ which drew a significant response.
With such a successful reception for this big friendly lamp, earlier this year Anglepoise® exhibited a new giant lamp, designed by creative director Sir Kenneth Grange based on his Type 75™ design launched in 2004.
Now available as the Type 75™ Giant, each component of this new model is made in the UK which is later hand built in Portsmouth. See images of the Type 75™ Giant and production process below.
“CHARACTERISED BY A PIONEERING PERFECT BALANCE MECHANISM.”
“AN ENGAGING KINETIC FORM.”
“AN INCOMPARABLE SERIES OF PRACTICAL, ENERGY-EFFICIENT TASK LAMPS.”
