Louis Poulsen, Medium Table Light by Poul Henningsen

The PH 3/2 table lamp isn’t just striking; it’s scientific and caring, too. A series of stacked concentric shades, initially made of metal or glass, helps evenly distribute reflected light while concealing the source at its center, creating diffuse illumination that’s much gentler on the eyes than the harsh glare from a bare light bulb, which, in the early days of electric lighting, was an off-putting evolution from the welcoming glow of gas lamps.

Designed by Poul Henningsen (1894–1967) in the late-1920s as part of a series that would include around 100 designs, the PH 3/2 table lamp can be traced all the way back to its creator’s humble boyhood.

Henningsen was a product of his time. The son of famous Danish writer Agnes Henningsen, the designer and architect grew up at the turn of the century in a small Danish town without electricity, and the soft glow of the gas lights of his childhood left an impression. Henningsen would go on to work in a variety of fields, but as a lighting designer, he sought to emulate the effect of gas-lamp lighting with the then-new electric fixtures of the era. After studying at the Danish College of Technology, Henningsen began designing restaurants, residences and factories in Copenhagen. In 1924, he joined Danish lighting firm Louis Poulsen & Co., where he conducted a series of studies analyzing a lampshade’s function.

The modern and wildly nontraditional PH lamp design that resulted from Henningsen’s exploration would characterize his subsequent collection of artful lighting, such as the 3/2 table lamp, which ultimately suits different spaces and functions in its wealth of variations. His Paris light — an early PH configuration he would refine later — earned him a gold medal for modern lighting at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in France (this was the exhibition that brought the Art Deco style to worldwide attention). Louis Poulsen put the PH lamps into production soon afterward, and a long and fruitful collaboration began. In 1958, the partnership yielded another modern-day classic, the dramatic and revolutionary Artichoke lamp.

Today, the PH 3/2 table lamp is still available from Louis Poulsen.

Louis Poulsen is world-renowned as an innovator in modern Danish lighting, but this wasn’t the goal from the start. Founded in 1874 by Ludvig R. Poulsen as a wine importer, the business went through several incarnations before its first pendant lights came to fruition. Through its designs, the company helped establish the foundations of good lighting — function, comfort and ambience — that are now standard in modern furniture design.

In 1924, Danish architect Poul Henningsen partnered with Louis Poulsen & Co., then an electrical supply company, to create what’s now known as the Paris lamp. This design, which incorporated three layers of curved metal disks, created ambience with its indirect light instead of glare. Shown at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris — the exhibition that brought Art Deco design to worldwide attention — the Paris lamp was awarded a gold medal. This led to Poulsen and Henningsen working together on several lighting pieces, including the popular PH pendant light with its concentric shades for the Forum Building in Copenhagen. These high-profile projects helped make Louis Poulsen a go-to purveyor of innovative lighting design.

One of the company’s most well-known lamps is Henningsen’s PH Artichoke lamp (1958), with its 72 copper leaves artfully placed to conceal the light bulb, prevent glare and promote a warm, alluring glow in any room. Another is the steel and die-cast zinc AJ lamp (1960), which Arne Jacobsen designed with an adjustable angled shade for his commission for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. The company has also worked with notables such as Verner Panton and Alfred Homann as well as, more recently, Louise Campbell and Oki Sato.

In 2010, the company was awarded the American Institute of Architects’ Honors in Collaborative Achievement Award; it was the first lighting manufacturer to receive this honor. In 2018, the company was acquired by an investment subsidiary of Investindustrial VI L.P. Still headquartered in Denmark, the brand continues to produce its high-end lighting for both indoor and outdoor use, manufacturing both classic icons as well as new designs. “We design to shape light,” states Louis Poulsen. In doing so, they have also shaped culture.

Find a range of new and vintage Louis Poulsen floor lamps, table lamps and other lighting and furniture on 1stDibs.