Vintage Parisian Holophane globe street lamps.
Learn more about lighting powerhouse 'Holophane' and discover their most iconic mid-century design, lauded and sought after from interior design professionals to home renovators around the globe.
If you’re in the antiques trade or the interior design space, then the chances are you’re already fully aware of Holophane as a lighting brand and how highly regarded the quality and styles of lights they’ve produced over the last 125+ years are. If not then we’re still willing to bet you’ve probably seen the increasingly popular mid-century lamp - the Holophane Parisian streetlight globes, likely at a fancy venue, bar or restaurant or at the very least, seen them featured on inspirational design articles on your favourite interior blogs or social media.
Popular as ever then eh? Well yes, and for good reason… but don’t be fooled into thinking there’s a constant and abundant supply. Original Holophane globes are now increasingly hard to find with the vast majority of Parisian streets now featuring ultra modern LED lighting so there’s not many left out there in the wild. Good job you found us then!
Not interested in the history and just want to view our Holophane globe pendants?
About Holophane.
Image by Holophane Lighting LTD via holophane.co.uk.
Holophane — Greek for “balanced light distribution” started as a UK brand founded in London in the 1890’s and are globally recognised for their expertise in glass lighting products. Their early pieces often characterised by a perfect blend of Art Nouveau and Industrial styling with the hallmark of all of their lights being their use of borosilicate pressed glass refractors (more on this later). Constantly hitting that sweet spot of function vs form combined with the science behind their light refraction is clearly the main reason Holophane as a company are still exist as a brand in the lighting industry today.
History and applications.
Over the past century Holophane have been the forward thinkers when it comes to their production methods, designs and huge variety of applications of their lighting. You may not have known it, but you’ve likely walked a corridor or hallway, sat in a library, waited for a train or maybe even had a debate in the House of Commons - all illuminated by one or many Holophane lights. And if you were lucky enough to grow up in and around Paris in the 1960’s then the streets were very likely to have been lined with them iconic glass globes we now love. Later on in it's production, Holophane secured the largest-ever single lighting order in the UK of 65,000 fittings, covering 186 miles of tunnels in the famous London Underground. Renowned for their exceptional quality and unique illumination (thanks to the science behind their prismatic glass), Holophane have been commissioned and tasked with lighting some of the most high-profile venues in the UK, including St Paul’s Cathedral in 1923, Battersea Power Station in 1930 and even both King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II’s coronations at Westminster Abbey.
What makes these Holophane globes so special?
Of course - It’s all about the glass! The hallmark of ALL Holophane lights are their borosilicate pressed glass refractors and the Parisian globe pendants are no exception to this. Often described as having ‘prismatic glass’ - this is the ribbed prisms built into the glass that’s not just for aesthetics. Whilst there’s no denying they look incredible even when unlit, the prismatic glass actually serves a very useful purpose when illuminated. The prisms help to produce a perfect blend of up-light and downlight and it's this efficient and even spread and refracting of non-directional light that make them highly sought after for interior design applications.
“For more than a century, the hallmark of Holophane luminaires is the borosilicate glass reflector/refractor”
The infamous streetlights of Paris.
Since the 1960s, the streets of Paris were lined with these globes - both stylish and functional in equal measure; and is often the case with items from our past - they were built to last. A small selection of archival photos below show the Holophane globes in their original settings in and around the streets of Paris. Note how they were most usually found mounted to the top of a lamppost. Most commonly found in a 50cm and 40cm diameter, but a huge 65cm variant was also produced, although never seen for sale.
Our restoration process.
The dream would be to pick these Holophane globe lights up from Paris - France in a clean, ready to convert state, but it’s sadly never the reality or at least never has been for any of our past hauls of finding them. For us the most time consuming part of converting these globe lights is by far the cleaning process (which is not an overly fun one on a cold dark morning outside in the midst of winter). It is however the most rewarding part or the conversion journey and I’m sure many other dealers can relate… there’s much satisfaction and joy to be had from washing away 60+ years worth of dirt and grime (and pigeon poop!) to reveal the immaculate prismatic glass that Holophane are so renowned for.
Whilst restoring these Holophane globes and converting them to useable lighting pendants is a relatively easy undertaking, it is a rather involved process - A labour of love to say the least!
Inspection and disassembly
All the lights we receive undergo a quick visual examination. We check that all the original parts are there and that there’s no immediate or obvious signs of damage to the most important part of the light - THE GLASS!
The lights are then completely stripped down and all the old electrical components (mostly manufactured by Thorn) are removed and discarded leaving 4 main parts: The prismatic glass, top cap, bottom cap and internal bracket.
2. Cleaning
With the lights now stripped we can concentrate on the laborious and awkward cleaning stage - (think thousands of internal ridges with a small aperture for access!)
Hot soapy water, the jetwash and a myriad of different brushes are an absolute necessity here.
This part of the process also allows us to get up and close and personal to the glass so also serves as a more detailed inspection. The remaining parts also get the same treatment before moving onto…
3. Cap reconditioning
The caps from these Holophane globes are perfectly useable but are in their raw form. Our reconditioning of these caps involve refinishing them to a smooth ready for painting.
The earthy grey natural finish isn’t the most attractive so we generally opt for a more neutral and interior friendly satin black.
Step 4 - Wiring & assembly
Fixing hardware is attached to what was once the bottom cap (remember these were pole mounted) and the clients required drop is taken into account so the chain and cable can be cut to the required length before wiring can begin.
New connections are made to the bulb holder and a good solid earth point is found to ensure the light meets the current standards.
Finally - assemble, test, stand back and admire!
The end result.
Our Parisian Holophane globe pendant lights illuminating Market Halls Cargo - Canary Wharf recently renovated and designed by Fare Inc.
Image by thenudge via thenudge.com.
About our Holophane Globe pendants.
All of the Holophane lighting that we sell, including the Parisian streetlight globes, are fully original pieces and not reproductions. Our lighting is always sympathetically restored, rewired to modern standards and ready to install into your project. The fact that many of these incredibly attractive pieces still exist is a true testament to their superior quality and an era of manufacturing long forgotten by the coorporations of today!
Other Holophane pieces.
Below is a selection of our current Holophane lighting stock mixed in with some of our favourite finds from over the years - showcasing just how versatile, timeless and functional they truely are!
If you have any Holophane lighting you’re looking to sell or want appraised, please reach out - we would love to hear from you!
We only carry original and authentic Holophane lights, so if you’re looking to purchase from a reputable dealer with an ever-changing collection then feel free to visit our stock page to see what we currently have available. Of course if you have any questions or just fancy a friendly chat about all things Holophane - just ask, we’re always happy to help and advise.
Thanks for reading! Have a great day.
Click below to check out our stock of 40cm Holophane globes which are fully restored and ready to have installed
You can also view our stock of 50cm Holophane globes here.
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