One of the things that we've been drawn to ever since we first started restoring antique and vintage lighting are holophanes.
Holophane, though, was the name of a brand before it came to refer to a whole type of lighting. Holophane and The Holophane Glass Company was founded at the turn of the 20th century. The company was known for the glass reflector and refractor shades it produced in both England and in the US.
The style of reflectors and refractors Holophane became famous for was first thought up by Andre Blondel, a French scientist, and Spiridion Psaroudaki, a Greek engineer, who used horizontal prisms to manipulate light. What they produced became known as the "Blondel Flute," and can be see translated into holophanes on many vintage, antique, and even reproduction shades to this day. They began producing their light refractors in France, and received a U.S. patent in 1893.
Otis A. Mygatt then bought the rights for the "Blondel Flute" in 1896 and founded the Holophane brand, combining the Greek words "Holos" and "Phainein" and suggested a look that was "wholly luminous". He founded Holophane in London before incorporating in America in 1898.
Today, the term 'holophane' is used to refer to the specific qualities and characteristics of the glass that Acuity Brands developed and popularized through the Holophane brand. There are holophane lights in all different styles and forms, from industrial warehouse lights to delicate lights for a breakfast nook or powder room to lighting for scientific instruments and equipment.
What they share, though, is that the glass is made by pressing molten borosilicate glass, which is more durable than most glass, into a mold that has facets or ribs. This creates the iconic striped or grid quality that makes holophane glass easy to identify, and so useful in lighting.
Holophanes refract light, spreading the illumination a bulb provides further and more evenly. As a result, they give off a uniform glow that is useful for a workspace and beautiful in a home.
We love working with old holophane glass, as it often has stories to tell. Holophane shades were used in hardworking spaces, and the glass often has small imperfections that speak to a century or more of use as well as the realities of the early manufacturing process.
Explore available UL Listed antique and vintage Holophane glass lights.