Not currently on display at the V&A

DTLV 20 spotlight from the Atlas Hi-Spot range

Spotlight
1972-1973 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Thorn Lighting Ltd, a subsidiary of the Austrian company Zumtobel Group, is a global supplier of both outdoor and indoor luminaires and integrated controls.

Thorn was founded when Sir Jules Thorn started The Electric Lamp Service Company Ltd, in 1928, dealing in incandescent filament lamps. In 1936, renamed Thorn Electrical Industries Ltd, the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange. Continuous post-war expansion followed and the organisation seized a variety of lighting, engineering and consumer electronics businesses, merging with EMI in 1979 to create Thorn EMI, which itself demerged in the mid-1990s.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleDTLV 20 spotlight from the Atlas Hi-Spot range (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Aluminium, extruded and powder coated.
Brief description
DTLV 20 spotlight from the Atlas Hi-Spot range, designed and manufactured by Thorn Lighting Ltd. Winner of the Design Council Consumer Award, 1972.
Physical description
DTLV 20 spotlight, from the Atlas Hi-Spot range, aluminium reflector and tungsten halogen lamp. Housed in a plain cylinder, powder coated black, supported on a `U' shaped metal bracket fixed to a circular base.
Dimensions
  • Height: 19.7cm (Note: Taken from the register and converted from inches. )
  • Width: 16.2cm (Note: Taken from the register and converted from inches. )
Style
Production typeLimited edition
Credit line
Gift of the manufacturer
Object history
Historical significance: Winner of the Design Centre Award in 1972.

The DTVL 20 is a small, slim, cylindrical spotlight with integral transformer which has all working parts neatly fitted inside the housing. It is available with a ceiling plate or on a track adaptor, is fully adjustable in direction, and produces a high density pencil beam.

It is part of the Atlas Hi-Spot range (see DESIGN 275/46) which was launched last September for the commercial display lighting market. The outstanding feature of the spotlight is its minute tungsten halogen light source, which is housed in an austere black cylinder designed to be as compact as possible. The reflector is spun from pure aluminium for high efficiency, is elliptical in form and comes complete with a shield to cut off all direct forward light from the lamp, so directing the maximum light output into the 15 degree beam.

DTLV 20 Spotlight, designed and made by Thorn Lighting Ltd: from about £9.60 with lamp and ceiling plate.

Design Journal, COID Awards 1972, London, March 1972, pp.29-34.
Summary
Thorn Lighting Ltd, a subsidiary of the Austrian company Zumtobel Group, is a global supplier of both outdoor and indoor luminaires and integrated controls.

Thorn was founded when Sir Jules Thorn started The Electric Lamp Service Company Ltd, in 1928, dealing in incandescent filament lamps. In 1936, renamed Thorn Electrical Industries Ltd, the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange. Continuous post-war expansion followed and the organisation seized a variety of lighting, engineering and consumer electronics businesses, merging with EMI in 1979 to create Thorn EMI, which itself demerged in the mid-1990s.
Bibliographic reference
Design Journal, COID Awards, 1972, London, March 1972, pp.29-34.
Other number
72/983 - RF number
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.455-1973

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Record createdApril 28, 2011
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