Question #152153. Asked by
gmackematix.
Last updated Jul 08 2025.
Originally posted Jul 06 2025 11:00 PM.
What is the story behind the green desk lamp that appears on film so often? Who made green banker lamps?
The official name of this lamp is the Emeralite Desk Lamp, which is also widely known as the Bankers Lamp. The inventor is Harrison D. McFaddin, who made various types of lamps. The signature feature of his lamps is the emerald green lampshade, known as the Emerald Shades. He established the H.G. McFaddin & Co. company to produce this type of lamp. The main factory was located in the city of Rapotin, Moravia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. The earliest Bellova and Emeralite lamps were born in 1909. On May 11th of the same year, they obtained the original appearance patent in the United States (patent number 39984), and they were produced for 50 years. The glass factory of J. Schreiber & Neffen specialized in producing the lampshade for this lamp. It is said that many bankers who work late into the night liked this lamp, hence it is also called the banker's lamp ...
In 1939, the founder wanted to retire, and then the company was acquired by an employee named Charles Inness Brown and was renamed The Emeralite Co., Inc. The production direction also shifted from the collectible art lamps of Emeralite and Bellova to more modern models, but naturally, it also lost its original value. By the 1950s, the company's profits were very problematic. After Inness-Brown died in 1960, the company was transferred again, and the company was renamed once more to Tilarem, Inc. (which is the original company name with the first and last letters removed and then reversed, quite creative~). By 1962, the company was completely dissolved. It became history.
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