Pendant lamp BL9 with black shade and chromed suspension The design of this pendant lamp was created by Robert Dudley Best before 1930 and has lost none of its appeal since then. BL9 is part of the Bestlite range of wall, floor, table and pendant luminaires and is considered the cornerstone of Bauhaus design in the UK. Used in hotels, restaurants and homes around the world, it is appreciated by architects and designers as a versatile light source and has achieved the status of a design icon.
Robert Dudley Best (1892-1984) was the heir to the British company Best & Lloyd and during his design studies he set about refreshing the company's product range. He designed the BL1 - a table lamp, puristic in form and extremely mobile in its construction. It was initially used in workshops and by the Royal Air Force.
It achieved fame as Winston Churchill's desk lamp, shone in Buckhingham Palace as well as in the Orient Express and today belongs to the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Design Museum in London. Since 2004 the Bestlite has been manufactured by the Danish company Gubi according to the original designs of Robert Dudley Best.