By Rafe Calder
Eindhoven was not an obvious place to start a lamp factory. The ground around it was sandy heath, and farming there rarely paid. The principal industry was making cigars. Into that went a company that sold light.
Where the museum stands
The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH), a heritage network, describes the Philips Museum as occupying the original factory building, at Emmasingel 31. It says the museum shows how light bulbs were made in 1891 and how machinery had changed production by the 1920s. The Philips-run museum page agrees on the address and says Gerard Philips made his first light bulbs on this site in 1891. It lists electric light, radio, X-ray technology, television and the digital age among the subjects, with the company’s work in healthcare as the present-day thread.
LEDinside, a trade news site for the lighting industry, reported on 9 April 2013 that the museum had been open to the public since 6 April 2013, on the historic site where Gerard Philips made his first incandescent bulb in 1891. It says the old factory was renovated and extended.
Dates in order
- 1891: Gerard Philips makes his first light bulbs on this site, according to the museum’s own page and ERIH.
- 2013: the museum opens to the public, according to LEDinside.
Who founded it
ERIH says Gerard Philips (1858 to 1942) founded the company to make incandescent bulbs.
What the company left behind in the city
ERIH says Philips factories, research centres, housing and social facilities dominate Eindhoven, though the company headquarters is now in Amsterdam.
The Philips-run page notes that a flashing light system links the museum with the Centre for Artificial Light in Art on the opposite side of the street, which ERIH describes as modernist. That is two buildings talking to each other with bulbs, which is a fair summary of the city.
A November festival of light
Eindhoven also hosts GLOW, an annual outdoor festival of light art. Dates, route and tickets change each year, so check the official festival site before you plan.
Questions a buyer would ask
Is this a place to shop? Not as we read it. The museum and the festival are things to see, and the pages we read name no maker or product for us to point to.
Are there any objects to look for on the trip? The Philips page lists radios, televisions and lamps among the museum’s subjects. We have no maker, make or listing to point to, so we point to none.
Quick answers
Where was the first Philips factory? According to ERIH, a heritage network, it is the building now used as the Philips Museum, at Emmasingel 31 in Eindhoven.
When did Philips start? ERIH and the museum’s own page give 1891 for the first light bulbs.
When is GLOW in Eindhoven? GLOW is an annual outdoor light art festival in Eindhoven. Check the festival’s own site for dates, route and tickets.
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Roam first. Shop later.