Poul Henningsen 4/3 Table Lamp 1940s
About the Item
- Creator:Louis Poulsen (Manufacturer),Poul Henningsen (Designer)
- Design:PH 3/2 Table LampPH Shade Lamps
- Dimensions:Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)Width: 14 in (35.56 cm)Depth: 14 in (35.56 cm)
- Power Source:Plug-in
- Voltage:220-240v
- Lampshade:Included
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1940s
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Top shade relacquered in original yellow color.
- Seller Location:Portland, OR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6884236565472
PH 3/2 Table Lamp
The PH 3/2 table lamp isn’t just striking; it’s scientific and caring, too. A series of stacked concentric shades, initially made of metal or glass, helps evenly distribute reflected light while concealing the source at its center, creating diffuse illumination that’s much gentler on the eyes than the harsh glare from a bare light bulb, which, in the early days of electric lighting, was an off-putting evolution from the welcoming glow of gas lamps.
Designed by Poul Henningsen (1894–1967) in the late-1920s as part of a series that would include around 100 designs, the PH 3/2 table lamp can be traced all the way back to its creator’s humble boyhood.
Henningsen was a product of his time. The son of famous Danish writer Agnes Henningsen, the designer and architect grew up at the turn of the century in a small Danish town without electricity, and the soft glow of the gas lights of his childhood left an impression. Henningsen would go on to work in a variety of fields, but as a lighting designer, he sought to emulate the effect of gas-lamp lighting with the then-new electric fixtures of the era. After studying at the Danish College of Technology, Henningsen began designing restaurants, residences and factories in Copenhagen. In 1924, he joined Danish lighting firm Louis Poulsen & Co., where he conducted a series of studies analyzing a lampshade’s function.
The modern and wildly nontraditional PH lamp design that resulted from Henningsen’s exploration would characterize his subsequent collection of artful lighting, such as the 3/2 table lamp, which ultimately suits different spaces and functions in its wealth of variations. His Paris light — an early PH configuration he would refine later — earned him a gold medal for modern lighting at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in France (this was the exhibition that brought the Art Deco style to worldwide attention). Louis Poulsen put the PH lamps into production soon afterward, and a long and fruitful collaboration began. In 1958, the partnership yielded another modern-day classic, the dramatic and revolutionary Artichoke lamp.
Today, the PH 3/2 table lamp is still available from Louis Poulsen.
Poul Henningsen
The name Poul Henningsen is synonymous with the best and most innovative modern Scandinavian lamps and other lighting. The Danish designer created a signature vocabulary of fixtures with tiered and layered shades in sculptural arrangements that are at once naturalistic and geometric.
Henningsen grew up in a town on the outskirts of Copenhagen and studied architecture at the Technical University of Denmark. He would become a noted art critic, journalist and screenwriter, but his first love was lighting design.
Henningsen’s childhood home was illuminated by oil lamps. When his family switched to electrified lighting, he was alarmed and repelled by the harsh glare cast by an incandescent bulb, and in his late teens he began conducting quasi-scientific experiments to measure which materials and methods best diffused or reflected light to give it a warm brightness. His work came to the attention of the lighting-fixtures firm Louis Poulsen, which sponsored the development of a prototype lamp. The design won a gold medal at the 1925 Paris Expositions Internationales des Arts Decóratifs et Industriels Modernes — from which the term Art Deco derives. The lamp, whose three-part shade is said to be inspired by the arrangement of a dinner plate atop a soup bowl atop a teacup, became the basis for Henningsen’s most successful design, the PH 4/3 desk lamp.
All told, Henningsen would design some 100 lighting fixtures in his career. Some of his most notable creations are hanging lamps, which include the Septima (1929), a pendant composed of seven graduated frosted-glass layers; the Spiral (1942), made of a single ribbon of enameled aluminum; and the Artichoke lamp (1958), whose 70 glass or metal fins in a staggered and graduated arrangement on a central steel frame resemble those of its namesake. The last is likely Henningsen’s masterwork and an icon of mid-20th-century design. Like all Henningsen lighting designs, it is striking, sculptural and — thanks to his insistence on the primacy of the quality of the light cast — superbly functional.
Find a collection of authentic Poul Henningsen table lamps, floor lamps and other lighting on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Portland, OR
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Vintage 1940s Poul Henningsen Table LampBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Portland, ORIconic design by Poul Henningsen in wonderfully patinated brass with original opaline glass diffusers and professionally re-lacquered copper top shade. Newly rewired for European out...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Copper, Enamel
- Art Deco Brass Table Lamp, Kurt Versen 1930sBy Kurt VersenLocated in Portland, ORFantastic early lamp by Swedish-born designer, Kurt Versen. In brass with plated aluminum shade. Excellent condition. Rare lamp. United States, 1930s. 18” tall.Category
Vintage 1930s American Machine Age Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum, Brass
- Scandinavian Modern Patinated Brass LampLocated in Portland, ORPetite perforated brass lamp with adjustable conical shade. Shade is white lacquered inside, perfectly patinated brass exterior. Wonderful little lamp, recently imported from Denmark...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- ASEA Sweden Brass, Leather & Rattan Floor Lamps, A PairBy ASEALocated in Portland, ORStanding pair of leather wrapped brass lamps, imported from Sweden and rewired for US. Rattan shades included. Age-appropriate patina and signs of use to the brass and the leather el...Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Danish Deco Tiled Club-Leg Cocktail Table after Otto FærgeBy Otto Færge 1Located in Portland, ORThis is a delightful table in the style of Otto Færge. Made by a Danish Cabinetmaker circa 1950s-60s, it is a ceramic tile mosaic top over solid stained Beech base. Three club legs p...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsCeramic, Beech
- Brutalist Cocktail Table by Don DrummBy Don DrummLocated in Portland, ORFabulous one of a kind cocktail table by Don Drumm. The sculptural element is cast aluminum in a brutalist-style sun motif. Square glass top, (3/4” thickness) floats above the sculpt...Category
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsAluminum, Steel
- Vintage Table Lamp Brass "PH-Lamp" by PH / Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen, 1940sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Odense, DKStunning original production PH-table lamp model "3,5/2" by Poul Henningsen manufactured at Louis Poulsen, Copenhagen in the 1940s. The lamp base is made from patinated brass and white bakelite parts. The shades are all original and unrestored. The upper shade is made from yellow lacquered metal with a wonderful patina while the middle and lower are made from frosted matte glass which gives a wonderful light distribution. A beautiful and rare example of the world famous lamp icon. Poul Henningsen designed the three-shade system back in 1925-1926. The first lights using the system were designed by PH in cooperation with Louis Poulsen for an exhibition in Paris. PH sought to create glare-free light, direct light where it was most needed, and create soft shadows, using incandescent bulbs as a light source. PH 3/2 Table is a member of the three-shade family. Thus PH did not just design a light, but an entire system – around a thousand different models have been produced over the years. PH was the first person to pursue a scientific approach to light and use the logarithmic spiral as a basis. By using a design based on the logarithmic spiral he achieved even distribution of light over the entire curve of the shade. This even light distribution, together with the diffuse reflection through the glass, made it possible to control glare and shadow. Each shade reduces the amount of light equally, due to their distance from the light source. The PH light model numbers refer to the shade size. Each top shade had a corresponding set of middle and lower shades. In the ‘pure’ models, such as the 2/2, the top shade has a size of about 20 cm, with corresponding lower shades. PH 3/2 Table consists of an app. 30 cm top shade, but uses lower shades from the 2/2 model. These ‘hybrid’ models were introduced due to the desire to hang the pendants at lower heights. The system was also used for wall, table and floor lamps. This specific example has a "3,5" top shade (33,7 cm.) and a "2" middle and lower shade making it a "3,5/2 PH lamp".Category
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Poul Henningsen Table Lamp model 3/2, 5 manufactured by Louis Poulsen 1940’sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Valby, 84Poul Henningsen Table Lamp model 3/2,5 manufactured by Louis Poulsen 1940’s, the lamps frame has a white Bakelite bulb socket and switch housing and a darke...Category
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass, Zinc
- Poul Henningsen Ph 3½-2½ Table LampBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Berkeley, CAThe louvre is 100% glare-free, with a design based on the principle of a reflective three-shade system, which directs most of the light downwards. For some variants, the top shade is made of deep drawn aluminum with white inner surface that ensures gentle, downward light distribution. The two bottom handblown opal glass shades ensure a large glare-free light surface, making optimum use of the light source to provide comfortable, functional lighting. The PH 3½-2½ Glass Table lamp was designed in 1928 and is one of many advanced projects undertaken by Poul Henningsen in the development of his world-famous three-shade system from 1926. Poul Henningsen devoted most of his life to taming electric light. He based his three-shade design on a logarithmic spiral to make optimum use of the light source. He was constantly doing calculations and tests. The form of the shades was determined by the way they were required to shape and reflect the light, and the lamp was designed to be glare-free. The first PH Table lamp...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Poul Henningsen Ph 4/3 Table LampBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Berkeley, CAThe fixture is designed based on the principle of a reflective three-shade system, which directs the majority of the light downwards. The shades are made of metal and painted white t...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Rare Poul Henningsen PH 3½-2 Table Lamp, 1930By Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Los Angeles, CARare Poul Henningsen. PH-3½/2 table lamp with original single-layer yellow painted/opal glass shade set on a browned brass stem and shade holder w...Category
Vintage 1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Early Poul Henningsen Copper Table Lamp, 1930sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Copenhagen, DKPoul Henningsen & Louis Poulsen, Mid-century Modern design This is the iconic Poul Henningsen (PH 4/3) table lamp with original copper shades. Stand, switch and socket house of bro...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCopper