Federzug table lamp

A Flexible Classic: Midgard’s Spring-balanced Lamp

The archetype among desk lamps, Midgard’s tradition-rich Spring-balanced Lamp, is back again: the lamp, whose design has not been changed for decades, is today being produced again in Hamburg. Using the original tools for the lamp’s production, the new owners of the historical lamp brand have been investing a great deal of passion to make this revival happen. The principle of using spring-balanced parallel arms in which the cable is hidden, is an ingenious and time-honoured design. After Midgard founder Curt Fischer had already established the first milestone in the history of directional light with his 1919 patent on the adjustable wall-mounted arm, his son, Wolfgang Fischer, applied himself to perfecting the design of the spring-balanced parallelogram arm. From then onwards, Midgard continued to produce the lamp in the Thuringian town of Auma, from which it was delivered to countless desks the world over.

The Spring-balanced Lamp scores by providing an individually adjustable light source: due to both the flexible two-arm design, whose construction and mechanism is directly derived from the human arm, and the reflector, which can be adjusted to the user’s liking, the light is directed precisely to where it is needed: a principle that, from the very start, has been a part of the Midgard philosophy. Crucial advantages of Fischer’s design of the lamp are its maintenance-free joints and springs, which, even under heavy use, guarantee reliable flexibility and stability. Today, this timeless lamp is available in both floor and table designs, featuring either a clamp or a base, and in both white or black powder-coated metal. All parts are produced in Germany and the lamps are manually assembled in Hamburg.

An engineer and the inventor of directional light, Curt Fischer founded the Midgard lamp factory in 1919. Shortly before the company’s 100th anniversary, the Hamburg-based entrepreneurs and lamp lovers David EInsiedler and Joke Rasch saved the brand from insolvency. In addition to the rights to all three Midgard lamp ranges, they also acquired the company’s comprehensive archive, as well as many original tools, which are now used again to produce the lamps. In January 2017, the official revival of Midgard started with the launch of the re-edition of the Machine Lamp. The Machine Lamp range of designs is today available as Midgard TYP 500 and TYP 550 series. Now, the Midgard portfolio has been complemented with the re-edition of the legendary Spring-balanced Lamp. In January 2018, the Midgard portfolio will be rounded off with the Bauhaus classics, the 113 and 114 directional lamps, the greatest fan of which in the 1920s was none other than Walter Gropius.