Damon (1920s & 1930s) French Lighting Design Firm

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Table lamp for Damon in chromed metal with fixed hemispherical cap on a hollow circle and a round, flat base.
Table lamp for Damon in chromed metal with a fixed hemispherical cap on a hollow circle and a round, flat base.

Damon was a lighting design company based in Paris, France.

Background

Damon was located at 4 Avenue Pierre-I-de-Serbie in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s. It was well-known for its innovative use of glass in lighting fixtures, with white glass designs that provided a dazzling effect without glare.

Boris Lacroix produced several lamps for the company, including etched mirrors and frosted glass tubes. Previously, pressed glass was only considered suitable for architectural lighting fixtures.

French modernist lamp for Damon (1933)
French modernist lamp for Damon (1933)

Damon created glass enamelled on the inside and frosted on the outside to provide a diffused reading light. Metal mountings, often gilded or silvered bronze, chrome, or nickel-copper, carried the émaillé difussants mounted on black marbrite bases. Gorinthe, André Roy, André Basompierre, Jean Baigneres, Georges Martin, and Daniel Stéphan were among the designers Damon employed (also a designer for DIM). Standard lighting fixtures, such as illuminated vases, bouts de table, and antéchambre lanternes, were also sold by Damon.

Pair of modernist nickel-plated desk lamps from France, c.1930, possibly produced by the Damon lighting firm, featuring articulated arms and glass bases.
Modernist nickel-plated desk lamps, France, c.1930. The restrained geometry, articulated supports, and reflective metal surfaces are characteristic of French Art Deco lighting, possibly attributable to the Damon firm.

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

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