Lampe Berger
Established 1898Invented in 1898 by Maurice Berger, Lampe Berger is a fragrance lamp that destroys odors and bacteria by using a catalytic burner to combust an alcohol based fuel. It was marketed to hospitals and mortuaries, where hygiene was very important. At the time the lamps used methyl alcohol, which smelled like formaldehyde.
In 1927, Maurice Berger sold the company to Jean-Jacques Failot, who changed to ethyl alcohol, giving it the scent of apples on combustion. Suddenly it could me marketed to the consumer market as a home fragrance. Failot began collaborating with great bottle designers of the period, including Galle, Lalique and Baccarat and made Lampe Berger a huge success.
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