This listing presents a nautical oil lamp made by the renowned Danish company Harnisch
The brass and opal glass lamp from the Holmegaard manufacture measures 12 cm. in diameter at the base and 38 cm in height, the glass measures 28 cm in diameter, the chain for hanging the lamp measures 54 cm in length, it is in excellent condition
Harnisch Lamps originated in Denmark. The company, founded in 1842 in Copenhagen under the name GV Frydenlund & Son, specialized in marine lighting products. In 1848 the company was named the sole supplier of navigational equipment to the Royal Danish Navy, and later, in 1851, started to supply the Royal Danish Coast Guard with lighthouse equipment.
In 1887, JAV Harnisch, the company's works manager, took over the company and since then the Harnisch family has carried on the tradition started in 1842.
JAV Harnisch expanded the company substantially, and supplied a great many lighthouse installations in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and the Virgin Islands (then a Danish colony, sold to the United States in 1916). Among these was the famous lighthouse guarding the entrance to the harbor of Copenhagen.
At the turn of the century, Mr. Harnisch designed a series of oil lamps, many of which are still in production, and part of our present catalogue. In 1912, JAV Harnisch received a Nighthood for his services to Denmark.
JAV Harnisch died in 1922, and the Company was then carried on by his son, Georg V. Harnisch, who continued to expand the Company's product line. After the Second World War, when the nation's commercial shipping fleets were being rebuilt, Mr. Harnisch established an Export Market for the Company's navigation equipment.
From 1941 to 1945, Georg V. Harnisch's son, Flemming, apprenticed as a copper and tinsmith in Denmark, and worked in the Company as well as in England and Sweden, until he decided to emigrate to Canada and establish the Company in North America in 1976.
Apart from carrying on the original product line, the Company is expanding into new products in domestic lighting, such as hanging and wall fixtures, table and floor lamps, designed by Flemming V. Harnisch.
The fourth generation of the family is now on board with the Company. Peter has been trained as a coppersmith and metal spinner while Thomas is responsible for design and marketing. This ensures that the Company will be carried on in the tradition of fine quality marine lighting started over 150 years ago.
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