Ferdinand Solere

Ferdinand Solère (c. 1894–1961), Paris – French inventor,
industrial designer and lighting manufacturer
Designer and works portrait for the webshop (as of: publicly available sources in English, German,
French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese – only sources with substantive added value have
been included; for languages without relevant hits, this is explicitly noted).
Origin and career path
Ferdinand Solère – recorded in French sources with his full name Ferdinand-Simon (Antoine)
Solère, and in several publications also as Fernand Solère – was a French inventor, industrial
designer and lighting manufacturer based in Paris. The life dates documented in the specialist
trade point to a birth around 1894 and a death around 1961. Solère set up his atelier and
manufactory at 29 Rue Fontaine au Roi in the 11th arrondissement of Paris and ran his business
under the company name „Metallectro".
Alongside his work as a designer-inventor, Solère taught industrial design at the École nationale
supérieure des arts décoratifs (ENSAD, the „Arts Décoratifs") in Paris and, in that role, influenced a
whole generation of French designers of the post-war modern era.
Career and key stages
French specialist literature counts Ferdinand Solère among the most prolific inventor-designers of
the twentieth century: between 1927 and 1979, he was granted 37 patents which, in addition to
luminaires, covered ashtrays, filing systems, office equipment and even a coffee grinder. The
beginning of his lighting-specific career can be dated to his first lighting patent in 1952, which
protected a ball-joint construction with counterweight.
From the early 1950s onwards, Solère developed in Paris a series of lightweight, easily handled
work and workshop lamps aimed above all at architects, ateliers, hospitals and industry. The real
breakthrough of his formal language came in 1965 with the patented knee-joint articulation system
(French patent no. 1,175,781), which allowed smooth, precise positioning of the lamp head and
became the constructive hallmark of every later Solère luminaire. From 1965 onwards, all lamp
fixings and joints in the range were reworked using this process.
Beyond his own manufactory, Solère collaborated with two of the most important French houses:
the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres (porcelain) and the Cristalleries de Baccarat (crystal). His
objects were shown at international art and design fairs.
Luminaires and light objects in the narrower sense
Solère's central body of work consists of sober, industrial work lamps and atelier types that follow
the functionalist ambition of French post-war modernism. Characteristic is the consistent material
combination of a rotating reflector and knee joints in aluminium, arm tubes in steel, a
teardrop-shaped („goutte d'eau") switch in brass and a solid steel disc foot. All components are
stamped „SOL-R" (also observed as „SOLR").
The manufactory's luminaire ranges were marketed under several trade names: the luminaires
themselves carried the brand „Soléclair"; the patented diffuser-sieve was marketed as „SolerSol".
The manufacturer's short name „Metallectro" appears on company plates and catalogues.
Documented models and configurations include the SOL-R workshop and atelier desk lamp model
203 (documented on, among others, the French specialist platform Label-Industrie); the industrial
„SOLR" desk-lamp type (in various versions with rotating arm and reflector); the „Solère 1950s"
floor lamp (industrial version with a tall steel foot); as well as several further table and wall variants
for architects' offices. The model ranges were produced between the 1950s and the late 1970s.
Stylistic classification
Solère's luminaires stand in the tradition of French industrial design of the post-war years and are
stylistically close to the sober, functional „French Industrial Style" of the 1950s and 1960s. Their
workshop-based, constructive aesthetic relates them to positions such as Jean Prouvé, Charlotte
Perriand and the atelier type of Parisian design modernism. On the international vintage market
they are traded under „French Industrial", „Mid-Century Modern", „Machine Age" and „Atelier
lamp".
Market presence and collections
Solère luminaires are regularly traded on international vintage-design and auction platforms,
including 1stDibs, Pamono, Whoppah, Catawiki, Vntg, Design Market, Etsy, Gascony Design,
Mister Parker, Oviry, Amarcord, Chez les Voisins and Galerie 20–21e (Granville). The auction
database Artprice lists Solère as an independent creator; the French specialist trade documents
his objects in several blog entries and specialist articles (including lesnouveauxensembliers.fr,
label-industrie.fr, autrefois-la-lumiere.blogspot.com).
Key data at a glance
Name: Ferdinand-Simon (Antoine) Solère (in some sources: Fernand Solère)
Born: c. 1894, France
Died: around 1961
Place and atelier: Paris, 29 Rue Fontaine au Roi (11th arrondissement)
Company / brands: Metallectro (company name); Soléclair (luminaire brand); SolerSol (patented
diffuser-sieve); SOL-R / SOLR (component stamp)
Activity: inventor, industrial designer, luminaire manufacturer; lecturer in industrial design at the
École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (ENSAD, Paris)
Patents: 37 patents between 1927 and 1979 (luminaires, ashtrays, filing systems, coffee grinder,
etc.); first lighting patent 1952 (ball joint with counterweight); patented knee-joint system 1965
(patent no. 1,175,781)
Partner manufactures: Manufacture nationale de Sèvres (porcelain); Cristalleries de Baccarat
(crystal)
Materials of luminaires: aluminium (reflector, knee joints), steel (arm tubes, base disc), brass
(switch, „goutte d'eau"), stainless steel, cast iron
Iconic models: SOL-R model 203 (atelier desk lamp); SOLR desk lamp with rotating arm; 1950s
floor lamp; Soléclair workshop lamp ranges
Style: French Industrial, Mid-Century Modern, Machine Age, atelier design