Some questions that puzzles me around the Swedish company Lux when trying to describe its lamp past and life in general at my website (in Danish). They are, amongst others: As far as I have understood things around Lux, it handed over its lamp production to Optimus around 1920. Is this correct and how exactly did it happen (and when) - did Optimus buy part of Lux or maybe the whole company? Did Optimus continue the production of Lux' lamps and in that case, which models? Was Optimus already producing pressure lamps before taking over the Lux lamps? If yes, then for how long had they been doing that? What happened afterwards with Lux? They manufactured vacuum cleaners for Elektrolux, I know, but when and how did the company cease to exist and what happened in the mean time? There is nowadays a Finnish company called Lux - is that related to the Swedish Lux?
It's very hard to find documents on Lux and their company history. Especially the lamp part is a bit elusive. I haven't seen any proof yet that Lux handed over some of the lamp production to Optimus in 1920. It is however claimed that Lux sold the patent for Sirius to Optimus around 1920, but it would be nice to see some documents about it. What we do know, is that Optimus acquired the entire stove production, including the tooling and spare parts, from Lux in 1914. The Sirius lantern started its production from around the same year by Lux, so it's also a possibility that they allowed Optimus to also make those in the bargain. Perhaps this was an easy item to let go of since Lux mainly were into larger lamps and lighting systems. Or perhaps it actually took until around 1920 before Optimus made their version of the Sirius lantern. Optimus never made any other models at this early stage than the Sirius, and no; Optimus did not make pressure lamps before they made/sold the Sirius. I think they started with their own line of lamps firstly in the thirties. Lux never ceased per se. It was just merged with another company to form Elektrolux (Later Electrolux), which eventually became an enormous beast, and still is. I don't know about the present Finnish Lux company you mention, but I doubt that it has anything to do with "our" Lux. What actually do remain of AB Lux today is a company that just simply is called Lux AG with it's seat in Switzerland. It was broken out of Electrolux in the late 20th century to become a company of its own again after nearly a decade within Electrolux. Still making vacuum cleaners and related stuff. You can see it on http://www.lux.se
Excellent! You are a true oracle on these matters. It never occurred to me that the arrangement of letting Lux produce the vacuum cleaners for Elektrolux actually lasted until 1998 - I thought that it was just a temporary arrangement back in 1919. From the lux.se website it appears that lamp production saw a decline already from 1908. I found out earlier that Svenska Elektron (later renamed to Elektrolux) in 1918 bought 49% of Lux. Now I just want to find out if and when they bought also the rest of the shares, and thereby what exactly it was the von der Becke family bought in 1998 - and from whom. I think we can safely assume that Lux stopped producing lamps at latest in 1919, due to that exclusive manufacturing agreement with Svenska Elektron/Elektrolux. It truly was a coup - that new Lux of 1919 must have been a golden egg all the way until 1998, and perhaps it still is. What I still do not understand, though, was why Lux saw a declining sale of lamps already from 1908 - that was the time where many others saw an increasing market, for instance The Mantle Lamp Company of America (Aladdin) and several German manufacturers of especially center-draft wick-based paraffin lamps, because there was a growing demand for artificial light while electricity had not yet been made available everywhere. What sent Lux into trouble? Competition from copyists in Sweden? A lack of ability to follow the market with the right products? Bad management? It is obvious that Lux (like others) had problems selling paraffin-based lamps during WW I, but on the other hand, they did produce carbide lamps.
Yes, the carbide lamps for domestic use really saved the day for Lux those harsh WW1 years. The accounts for 1917 - the year of the carbide lamp production - even show one of the best results of all times for Lux. It's not correct that the decline came in 1908. Perhaps not long after though, because the Lux light was at its peak at 1910-11 both in reputation and production. The 1908 they mention there might perhaps refer to the fact that 1906-08 was a time of prosperity, noticeable amongst others that the labour force at the factory was at its highest level those years. (This coincides with the famous move to the island "Lilla Essingen" at the exact same time as Primus built their new factory on the other half of that little island.) The decline (on the lamp making, nota bene!) came rather 1910-13, and this was of course mainly because electric light won ground now. Remember that Lux mainly wasn't aiming towards the households, so those lamps you mention isn't really applicable here. On top of that, the competition on markets still using large paraffin lamps in e.g. street lights, lighthouses and railroads had increased severely around that time too. But this was not a decline for the company itself since they saw where the winds blew, and acted accordingly. That's why they started with other products at this time, and the company was also reconstructed in 1913 to a "new" AB Lux. The vacuum cleaners were of course one of the main non-lamp things they concentrated on. In fact it is said that this was one of the reasons they sold off the stove manufacturing the year after the reconstruction; they needed the factory space to produce the vacuum cleaners that became more and more important for them. Lux was still making lamps atleast in 1920, but the lighthouse lightings was put to sleep already at 1918 by AGA. (AGA bought the entire Lux stock in 1918 just to prevent further competition in that area) Elektron AB was just a sales company started only to sell the vacuum cleaners, and they only existed for around ten-twelve years. It's a complicated affair to sort out all relations and turns between the two AB Lux, Elektron AB, AB Elektrolux and AGA those years around and during WW1. Someday I will make a real try to sort all data out. I checked your site out pretty thoroughly by the way. I like it. You've put a lot of work down there, and obviously been reading and gathering a lot of information. I also like some of the pictures you have there. However, you need to add information about the Scandinavian, and especially the Swedish, carbide lamp manufacturing which figuratively speakin exploded in 1917!
It is a very exciting story - like, actually, most industrial history. On the surface it might look boring to some, especially because companies often, when they themselves are telling their history, are focusing on who was the director and the chairman of the board at this or that time, and how much turnaround did they make, etc. But inside all this bookkeeping stuff lives a story of ideas, inventiveness, hope, and hard work. There are successes, intrigues, failures, misjudgments and the eternal question of timing. Like in every good novel. Thank you very much for your kind words - the site is brand new, established on the 31st of January this year, so everything in it has been added since then. I do expect to add a lot more in the future, while also spending more and more time on improving what is already there. I agree that carbide lamps are important for the lamp history of certain parts of the world. The main reason for prioritizing this lower than many other things has been that carbide lamps are not very beautiful and therefore not very popular among ordinary people, they are rather collector's things. So most of my readers are actually not missing them Another reason is that I do not know very much about them, so they will cost me more research time. But they will be added. I could start by putting a photo of my own Primus 1031 on the site with a big text: "no, this is not a paraffin lamp", since I see them advertised as such all the time Btw., were there ever any carbide lamps made, which were equipped with an incandescent mantle? Oh, and about pictures - I use an active "image link" strategy, meaning that I want to inform visitors about other sites where they can find more information. But most people are not clicking on text links while they do click on image links - and the images themselves serve as both information and decoration, so I think it really is a win-win-win situation, where using solely my own pictures would only be win-win
I agree. Company history can be very interesting, and also educational. Yes, to my surprise there actually were some carbide lamps that used an incandescent mantle. It was discussed long time ago. I think it's more about this on some of the German forums or document archives. I never really got deeper into that type since the open flame lamp was the one that was common up here, and in most cases I can agree that these lamps aren't any beauties. Rather the opposite in many cases; bulky and shapeless, made of very heavy cast iron and with a disproportional globe on top. But they are also interesting to me. The ugliness is part of their charm. But on the other hand some could look very good. Especially some of the more elaborated ones in nickelplating or polished brass, nice shades and perhaps with lyre hangers. Optimus carbide lamp was quite allright in appearence, just as the lamps from K.F.E. in Eskilstuna with a lyre shaped hanger.
Now you have made me interested I will start looking into the carbide lamps soon. One more thing than the lack of beauty prevents people from buying them nowadays: they have no practical use. A paraffin lamp can easily be lit (if you can afford the paraffin! Here in Sweden the prices have become quite high), but carbide requires more care and some skills, otherwise you are at risk of blowing up the house, and it cannot be bought just everywhere. But maybe two ways into the topic could be appropriate: one is the carbide mining lamps, because mining lamps for reasons unknown to me is a popular topic, the other is the carbide storm lanterns, mostly because they look like something people know already, but with a twist that makes them interesting. I have never seen a lyre version of a carbide lamp - there is something to learn!
Oh, they have plenty of practical use! I often light a lamp during the dark season. They give a good but not enoyingly bright light and are trouble free and need normally no particular tending for en entire evening. I agree with the mining lamps. I can't either understand why they are so popular. I guess it is because that's the type that people generally know about (apart from bike lamps), and they are abundant. The indoor table lamps aren't that known amongst people. In fact many is surprised that there actually was made table lamps for indoor use. If you want to see a sort of lyre hanged lamp, look at this old topic. Here's the Optimus. And there are hundreds of other nice models.
Amazing lamps! I never knew that carbide lamps could be that beautiful. Did Optimus resume the production during WW II? You have a good taste in shades - which I recognize at www.karbidlampa.se, along with some of the lamps. Would it happen to be your website?
I don't really know if Optimus made any carbide lamps also during WWII. I doubt it. I think atleast the odd one should have surfaced by now or been visible in old ads or catalogues. Primus was common during that period, as you know. And some other brands. But there was not by far as much different models during WWII as during the last few years of WWI. Yep. That website is mine. It's an old one, and not very lively. I haven't updated it for many years now, and as you can see the format has an obsolete look today. It had already when I made it I mainly put it up because household carbide lamps was a field that lacked any kind of coverage on the web. I felt it needed atleat one place...
You are very discrete, not mentioning your name on the site at all, as far as I can tell The site is quite good, I think, and I'm glad that it is there - that was how I discovered that Swedes are actually interested in those many carbide lamps they are buying and selling all the time Btw. - I noticed that one of the patent-appliers at Lux was also called Carlson (but with one s) - are the two of you related?
Sven Carlson! More or less the actual founder of AB Lux. No, not related as far as I know. It would have been nice. Then I perhaps could have found some Lux documents in the old family archive.
If Lux was the first company to get a carbide lamp approval - who was next? Is there a list of all 500 somewhere?
A few things that I didn't catch correctly, I think - those 500, are they for Denmark and Sweden combined, as they had a common approval specification? Or are they all just Swedish companies? Did each lamp design have its own approval number or did each company have one and the same for all its lamp models? And maybe you know as well, if actually all the approval numbers were being used - maybe a lot of companies got the approval but never produced any lamps?
