The Beadcage Lampe Berger

A Lampe Berger is an exquisite piece of art commissioned by the Lampe Berger company.  The pieces are crafted by the finest artists, porcelain makers, and glass makers in Europe.  Each piece functions, as they have for a century, to eliminate odors, purify the air, and fill the surrounding area with the most authentic smells from the famous fragrance producers of Europe. 

No imitation product can boast the 100 year history of the Lampe Berger.  Pieces produced by Baccarat, Lalique, Daum, as well as by the famous porcelain makers from Longchamps, the Goebel and Haviland China companies as well as many others now command prices in the thousands of dollars.  Lampe Berger’s commitment to uniqueness and limited production will often result in pieces being retired after a short production run resulting in maintenance and added value of each piece of art. 

We at The Beadcage recognize the value and functionality of the Lampe Berger and recommend it as our most important gift.   When it comes to a gift that says I value our relationship, I honor your sense of uniqueness and incredible taste, I want you to have a gift you can use and treasure for life, no other says it like Lampe Berger.  We recommend the Lampe Berger as a gift for a house warming, engagements, weddings, graduations, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s and Father’s day, and of course on Birthdays.  However, there is no better gift during the Holiday’s to accent the charm with wonderful aromas of the seasons as a Lampe Berger.

We include an outline of the story of the Lampe Berger, below.

 

History of the Company PRODUCTS BERGER S.A.
 

June 1898
Maurice Berger, a pharmacist obtained the patent for the stone catalyst used by the Lampe Berger lamps now used to convert alcohol to ozone and phenol.

1910
The company is now named "Ozoscent".   It’s humble beginnings are located in a building at 18, rue Duphot in Paris, France.  The premises consisted of a shop and a small apartment upstairs where Maurice Berger lived. It was from here that he first marketed his patented device for disinfection.  The catalyst stone’s process was called cold evaporation and it was originally intended mainly for institutions where the need for a clean bacteria free enviornmnet was imperative, such as hospitals and mortuaries.  In fact, Maurice Berger initially used methyl alcohol as the fuel at the time which reportedly produced formaldehyde and ozone as the products of the catalytic action.  Formaldehyde was fine for mortuaries, but not hospitals and private homes.  At that time, the Lampe Berger Stone bore the same name as the company, Ozoscent.  It was marketed as “Ozoscent” until 1930.

1910-1926
Lampe Berger was actually a creation based on combining two previous existing inventions.

The first of the two was the principle of transforming alcohols into aldehydes on contact with platinum, discovered jointly in about 1850 by two chemists, one a Frenchman named Charles Gérhardt and the other one a German, Justin Von Liebig.  The Lampe Berger catalyst stone was initially made of platinum and ceramic based on this principle.

The second was the commercial application of the above invention by the pharmacist Müller at the beginning of the 1890s. He used this principle to create a catalytic combustion device: the Müller Diffuser.

Maurice Berger stepped in and improved the burner system making it less expensive at the same time (using a derivative of platinum, asbestos and carbon instead of pure platinum). At that time the lamps used methyl alcohol giving off formaldehydes (formalin) on combustion which, in terms of efficiency, was excellent; however, the smell given off was powerful and unpleasant.  Most of his customers were professional, undertakers and hospitals, so practically no lamps from this period have survived. There were only three or four models available at that time, all made of crystal or glass.
 

1927
The company is bought from Maurice Berger by Jean-Jacques Failliot, a former industrialist and paper manufacturer.  The arrival of Jean-Jacques Failliot turns existing methods upside down. To start with, he converts the business into a limited liability company and gives it the name "Société des Produits Berger" (Society of the products of Berger).

Then, he abandons the use of methyl alcohol in favor of ethyl alcohol, which gives off a scent of apple rather than formalin. This reduced the efficiency of the product, but the change allowed Failliot to market the Lampe Berger in the private sector market.  At the same time, a marketing campaign was launched to make the product better known.  While some existing competitors were putting small inserts into newspapers, the Berger company was publishing full page ads, especially in magazines between 1928 and 1931.

Finally Jean-Jaques Failliot rolled out an amazing line of lamps.   He manages to commission some of the most famous glass designers of the period.  From 1928, over a hundred different models were produced, from the standard versions in molded glass, to the finest pieces of glass art created by Gallé, Lalique, Baccarat, Saint-Louis, Sabino and Tharaud just to mention a few.
 

1929
The company was extremely successful by this time.  After setting up temporarily in a former garage in Paris, a factory was found in nearby in the north-western suburbs of Paris, in Courbevoie, right next to the railway.

1930-1938
Sales reach around 20,000 lamps a year. They began exporting Lampe Berger to Belgium, Holland and Canada. Some attempts were made to export to Great Britain, the USA, South America and the Middle East with mixed success. Many of these export ventures ended in failure due to the fact that ozoalcohol was then considered a perfumery product, and therefore a luxury, subject to very high taxes.
 

1939-1945
The war period makes production more and more difficult. Raw materials, particularly the platinum derivatives used for the burners and the alcohol for the ozoalcohol become almost unobtainable.

In October 1940 Jean-Jacques Failliot is struck down by a German military vehicle in Paris and died from his wounds. His son Gilbert succeeded him. In 1943, during the bombing of the Hispano-Suiza aircraft engine factory nearby, Allied planes seriously damage the Berger factory (windows blown out, walls shaken). The company ended up surviving thanks to retail sales of old stock and a makeshift fuel that was used as a moth-repellent, from the shop in the rue Duphot.

1946-1955
Production restarted gradually, but essential raw materials such as copper and platinum were very difficult to find right up to 1948.  New suppliers eventually appeared on the scene. The production of luxury models was abandoned due to the low standard of living after the war.  This mared the end of the collaboration with Lalique and Saint-Louis, and the start of relations with the porcelain makers of Couleuvre, the earthenware makers of Saint-Méen in Ile et Vilaine and the strengthening of relations with Tharaud and Paul Bocquillon.  In fact, tastes had changed.  Customers abandon crystal glass and pâte de verre (kiln-cast glass, loosely translated glass paste) in favor of decorated porcelains.
 

1965 -1973
In 1965, the company becomes a limited company. The number of suppliers grows, especially porcelain manufacturers such as Ahrenfeldt, Teissonnière, Giraud, Goumot-Labesse and Pillivuyt, but also a glassware manufacturer Vallerystal which supplies opalines, and Breugnot which makes stoneware.

1973
Gilbert Failliot sells his company to Marcel Auvray, a former industrialist from the North of France who had become bored with his recent retirement. Production at that time was approximately 80,000 lamps a year.

1974-1988
The company starts a campaign with the aim of modernizing the image of the Lampe Berger. Advertising and the complete renewal of the range, creating a distinction between classic and contemporary products played a part in this modernization.

1989-1995
In 1989, Marcel Auvray handed the company over to his son Philippe.  New distribution networks were used, the lamp is adapted to suit various different markets. Bottom-of-the-line models are sold through hypermarkets.

1992
Setting up of the first Lampe Berger subsidiary in New York.
 

1993
Inauguration of the new factory in France enlarged to 65000 square feet on the same site. The distribution is diversified and there is an increase of the export markets.

1996
Arrival of Alain Le Bourg as Managing Director who strongly develops exports, especially to Asia, and gives a new impetus to the Company’s marketing.

1998 Lampe Berger is 100 years old
The company confirms its position at the top end of the market with the acquisition of Point à la Ligne, which specializes in decorative candles.

Creation of the Lampe Berger Group.

1999
Acquisition of the Bougies Epistrof brand.

2000
Acquisition of the Canadian distributor Argentor, which becomes Lampe Berger Canada.  The Lampe Berger Group now includes six companies and six brands.

2003
Acquisition of Parfums Indigo which specializes in olfactive marketing. The company becomes Toulouse Parfum Industry.

One of the jewels of French heritage

Lampes Berger very quickly became indispensable in the home. The 1930's and 1940's were the years of triumph. Lampe Berger entered living rooms the whole world over.  In Limoges porcelain, earthenware, Baccarat crystal, designed by Gallé, Lalique and Daum, they adorned the most prestigious interiors throughout the world and become one of the best ambassadors for the French art of living.  Jean Cocteau and Gabrielle Chanel were fervent collectors of them. Since then, numerous collectors all over the world have set up a club dedicated to looking for original models. And in 1973 Marcel Auvray gave the Lampe Berger a new lease of life.

There are over 150 models of Lampes Berger divided into 2 collections, Tendances and Signatures, to suit different lifestyles and interiors. Each of these collections is improved twice a year by great contemporary designers.  Moreover, a wide choice of perfumes allows the creation of numerous new designs.