Variable table lamp BL1 - icon of British luminaire design With this table lamp, the famous Bestlite series of lamps already began before 1930. The British industrial designer Robert Dudley Best was inspired by the work of Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, whom he had studied at the 1925 World Exhibition of Modern Design in Paris, and his contemporary Walter Gropius. Thus the typical Bauhaus features of functionality and simple elegance also characterise the Bestlite luminaire series.
The table lamp, which thanks to its adjustability is predestined for use on desks, for example, was first used in workshops and by the Royal Air Force. The general public finally took notice of BL1 when Winston Churchill used it on his desk. It later found its way into Buckingham Palace, into luxury trains such as the Orient Express and Pullman cars.
The BL1 is still regarded today as the first English Bauhaus design. For many decades, the lamp series was manufactured in the original manufacturer Best & Lloyd's own lamp factory. In 2004 the Danish company Gubi took over the production of Bestlite.