First Anglepoise lamp

Designed by engineer George Carwardine (UK) and manufactured by British company Herbert Terry & Sons, the first Anglepoise lamp went on sale in 1934. Called the 1208, the lamp was supported by a sequence of springs which kept the structure in constant tension and which meant that, like a human arm, it was both stable and flexible. Carwardine originally called his lamp the Equipoise, but this name was rejected by the Patent Office. The lamp was originally intended for industrial use, and it was not until the introduction of the Anglepoise model 1227 in 1935 that the lamp began to become a feature of many homes.