| Tensor lamp | |
| Producttype: | Small high-intensity low-voltage desk lamp |
| Producedby: | Tensor Corporation |
| Country: | United States |
| Markets: | United States |
A Tensor lamp is a trademarked brand of small high-intensity low-voltage desk lamp invented by Jay Monroe.[1] [2] The lamp was mainly popular during the 1960s and 1970s.[3] [4] The lamp was originally used by doctors and dentists, and later became more widely used.[5] The first prototype was created in 1959, and the lamp was commercialized in 1960 by the Tensor Corporation.
The first Tensor lamp consisted of a 12-volt automobile parking light bulb and a reflector made from a kitchen measuring cup. Monroe fixed the cup to a metal tube that was attached to a transformer, which reduced 115-volt house current to 12 volts. Because of the small bulb, the entire lamp could be made smaller with a light-directing shade. Monroe was issued a patent for his invention.
By 1963, the lamp was sold to the general public as a decorative desk lamp for home and office, and several other manufacturers soon entered the field. Its main competitors during the 1960s were the similar-looking Lampette brand of lamps manufactured by Koch Creations,[6] the Mobilette, a series of Italian designed lamps sold by Stiffel, and Lytegem lamp designed by Michael Lax and manufactured by Lightolier.[7]