Poul Henningsen Framed Poster, PH 5 No. 1649 - 24.75" x 38.25"

Offset print of Poul Henningsen's collage for the PH 5 Lamp. Offset print No. 1649.

The PH 5 lamp of 1957 contains several new ideas. The shades cover the whole of the incandescent lamp, while the first PH lamp only covered the incandescent filament. Today's factories make nothing but strange round bulbs that are frosted inside and not at all precise in their radiation, so you have to cover the entire bulb.

In my opinion all the quality of the modern incandescent light is extracted in this way. It is a matter of a refinement of the light, a process like making brandy or bourgogne. It takes many potatoes to make a bottle of Aalborg Akvavit and many grapes to make a bottle of Chambertin. Anybody can eat the potatoes or the grapes »naturel« or hang the naked bulb under the ceiling. It gives more calories or light, but you must be rather thick-skinned to feel better that way. — Poul Henningsen