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The Light Before
Real history is not made up of heroes, conquerors, famous people. It is ours, the history of common folk and everyday life. Just as the history of objects is not made up of rare and valuable things – belonging to Lorenzo de’ Medici or Catherine of Russia – but of everyday household objects, things whose utility is there for all to see, not hidden by refined shapes and ambitious materials.
Going back through the history of artificial lighting, this collection brings together everyday objects, sometimes simple, sometimes precious, which open up a window on the past and enable us to imagine unknown times and houses where we have never lived.
This collection of lamps recounts the history of light before the incandescent filament electric light bulb was invented. And in the same way, Reggiani with its pioneering products, in common with every innovator, recounts the history of modern lighting technology, looking back with solicitous interest in what went before.
As well as being known to academics, this lamp collection is not unknown to the general public, being referred to, for example, in the Treccani dictionary of the Italian language, “La Domenica del Corriere”, “Tu donna”, “Illuminotecnica”, “Collezione di collezionisti milanesi”, “La cucina italiana”.
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