Midgard lighting

Curt Fischer (1890 – 1956)

Eén van de grotere ingenieurs en ontwerpers van de 20ste eeuw.

Aan het einde van de Eerste Wereldoorlog kwam de industrialisatie in een stroomversnelling in Europa. 
There was a lot of work until late at night. 
Daylight was no longer sufficient and the ceiling and hanging lamps that were common at the time only gave light from above. 
The result: you shade the body with your body and thus the workpiece. That's how it sounded at the time. 
Voor een vakman als Curt Fischer – hij had tijdens de oorlog rijtuigen veranderd in mobiele radiostations en de communicatieapparaten voor de Zeppelin mede ontwikkeld – een spannende uitdaging. 
Al in november 1919 had hij een oplossing klaar: met ingang van 26 november 1919 kreeg hij het patent op zijn beweegbare universele wandarm, een schaarlamp. Met één hand trekt u het licht naar u toe, draait u de kop van de lamp en stelt u deze in om de lichtkegel op de gewenste manier op de werkplek of het te vervaardigen werkstuk te richten. Als je de muurarm loslaat, klapt hij niet terug, maar blijft – en daarmee het licht – precies waar je hem nodig hebt.

In 1919 nam Curt Fischer de Auma fabriek in Thüringen over.
This factory was specialized in manufacturing machines for the production of industrial porcelain.
Curt added the names Ronneberger and Fischer to the company name to honor the factory founder, Konrad Ronneberger.
Ronneberger died in the war in 1915, three years after it was founded.

MIDGARD

Midgard is the Germanic word for world or earth.
During Curt Fischer's lifetime, the Scandinavian mythology was very much in vogue, which explains the naming .
A look at the logo at that time allows for different interpretations: a sun is protected from a snake by a triangle - possibly the abstraction of a reflector. In front of the Midgard Serpent, who legend has it does evil in the great world surrounding Midgard - and is ultimately defeated by the god Thor. The myth says that the slightly shy Midgard Snake wanted to poison the air. And so the logo could mean that Curt Fischer's lights should keep evil away, underscoring their achievements. Perhaps the serpent is also an allusion to the mobility of the "Midgard" lights or the river Auma.

Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer are great admirers of the“ Midgard ”lights.
Not only the Bauhaus- studios were equipped with it , but also some of the Dessau mansions, especially the living room in the Gropius house. Between 1927 and 1931, Gropius and Fischer were in contact with each other, with Fischer often turning to Gropius for advice, who unquestionably supported him.
Exhibition projects and facilities of Gropius, Breuer and many architects and designers in the Bauhaus and beyond were subsequently fitted with Midgard lamps.

Uit verklaringen van hedendaagse getuigen en documenten uit het archief van de firma Ronneberger & Fischer blijkt dat Curt Fischer geen voorstander was van de nationaal-socialisten. Zo schafte Fischer in traditionele brieven van die tijd de begroetingszinnen af ??die destijds gebruikelijk waren. Hij wist te voorkomen dat zijn bedrijf een bewapeningsbedrijf werd, en het bleef zelfs tijdens de oorlog beperkt tot de productie van lichten.

From 2015

In 2015, David Einsiedler and Joke Rasch, the founders of the Hamburg furniture company “Ply”, took over the production tools and company archive with hundreds of original drawings, photos and letters, in addition to the rights to the three classic Midgard lamp series (machine lamp, control lamps and spring-loaded lamp) .
The two entrepreneurs have moved the company, which was previously located in Auma, Thuringia, together with production to Hamburg.
Here the production line was completely rebuilt, modernized and restarted with original tools and machines .

In January 2017, the two furniture and lighting experts David and Joke restarted the production of Curt Fischer's machine lighting.
“We build in a historical context”, explain David Einsiedler and Joke Rasch - shedding light on a piece of forgotten design history.

Dealer & restorer of MIDGARD design
[email protected]