Vintage Siemens Theatre Batten Light | 8 x E27 Stage Strip Light with Wire Grille, Black Industrial Footlight Lamp, Hang, Stand or Lay Flat
Vintage Siemens Theatre Batten Light | 8 x E27 Stage Strip Light with Wire Grille, Black Industrial Footlight Lamp, Hang, Stand or Lay Flat
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A long vintage stage batten by Siemens, with eight lamp positions behind white reflector cups and a hinged wire grille. It still carries the old Siemens logo with the double S. Renovated and rewired for safe use at home, it can stand upright as a floor or shelf piece, lie flat, or hang from chains as a pendant over a kitchen table or bar.
At a glance
| Manufacturer | Siemens, Germany. Marked with the old Siemens logo, the double S |
|---|---|
| Type | Theatre batten, also called a footlight, strip light or ground row |
| Period | Mid-20th century, before the late 1960s (dated by the logo) |
| Lamp positions | 8 x E27 |
| Bulbs | Not included |
| Colour | Black body with white reflector cups |
| Front | Hinged metal wire grille |
| Condition | Renovated, with signs of age and use |
| Electrical | Rewired, approx. 3 m (9.8 ft) of cable, EU plug and inline switch |
| Dimensions | 106 x 17.5 x 24 cm (41.7" x 6.9" x 9.4") |
| Placement | Upright, horizontal, or hung from chains |
| Availability | One of one, once sold this exact piece will not return |
| Import duty | Payable by the buyer in their own country |
The story
For most of the history of the theatre, the edge of the stage was lit by a row of lights set into the floor: first candles, then oil lamps, then gas. Gas footlights were bright but hot, smoky and dangerous, and the fires and gas explosions of the early 1880s pushed theatres towards electric light, which arrived in London's Savoy Theatre in 1881. Electric strip lights followed, in two forms. Footlights, or ground rows, sat on the floor and lit the stage from below and the painted backcloth behind it. Battens hung overhead from the flies and washed the stage from above. Both were built the same way: a long metal housing, a row of lamps each with its own reflector, and a guard to protect the lamps and the people around them.
This batten was made by Siemens, and its logo gives a useful clue to its age. The double S is the mark of Siemens-Schuckert. Siemens and Halske acquired the Schuckertwerke in 1903, and from then on the Siemens-Schuckert company handled power engineering and heavy electrical equipment, a field that included stage and theatre lighting. It was merged into Siemens AG in 1966, and the old logo, an S with a smaller S laid across its centre, stayed in use until the late 1960s. A piece wearing that mark therefore comes from before the merger.
The housing is a tall black box with ventilation holes along its side, and the front opens on a hinge to reveal eight white reflector cups, one for each lamp, protected by a black metal wire grille. We renovated the batten and rewired it for use in a home, with about 3 metres of cable, an EU plug and an inline switch. Each position takes a standard E27 bulb, which is not included. Warm LED filament bulbs suit it well, but any E27 bulb will fit.
It is a flexible object. Stood upright it reads as a slim, tall light sculpture, ideal beside a sofa or on a sideboard. Laid flat it works as a long low strip light on a shelf, a window ledge or the floor, just as it would have lit a backcloth. Hung from chains over a table, it makes a distinctive industrial kitchen or dining lamp, lighting the whole length of the table evenly.
Suited to collectors of theatre and stage lighting, interior designers looking for a long statement light with real provenance, restaurant, bar and café owners, and anyone who wants a striking industrial lamp for a kitchen, loft or studio.