Manufacturer · Germany · Neheim (Arnsberg) · 1881–1995
Hillebrand Lighting
Hillebrand Lighting (Hillebrand Leuchten, 1881–1995) – German lamp manufacturer from Neheim, run by three generations of the Hillebrand family.
About the manufacturer
- Years active
- 1881–1995
- Country
- Germany
- Location
- Neheim (Arnsberg)
The company’s history dates back to 15 May 1881, when tinsmith and installation master Egon Hillebrand (1848–1936) opened a tinsmithing and installation workshop with a tin-casting department in Neheim. It produced metalware, engraved objects, as well as paraffin lamps and carriage lanterns. Neheim, now part of Arnsberg, was then a centre of lamp production – according to statistics of the German Reich from 1905, it had the highest concentration of businesses in this sector.
At the turn of the 20th century, the founder’s son, Franz Hillebrand (1881–1971), joined the company, and production gradually shifted to electric lighting. In 1936, his eldest son, Egon Hillebrand (1914–2007), began working at the company and later ran it; in 1988, he received the Federal Cross of Merit.
In the 1950s, Hillebrand expanded its range to include residential, architectural and contract lighting: table and desk lamps, wall lights, ceiling lights and illuminated mirrors. The company collaborated with, among others, Ernest Igl, Heinz Georg Pfaender (the “Oslo” table lamp, 1961; the “Bornholm” desk lamp, 1963) and Odo Klose, while between 1968 and 1988 a significant proportion of the modern models was developed by Heinz F.W. Stahl. In 1995, the company declared bankruptcy and the factory was closed.
