Robert Dudley Best

Born:1892 - Died:1984
Best-known work: The Bestlite lamp
Training: Industrial Designer

Background
At one time, Robert Dudley Best was heir to the biggest lightning company in the world – Best & Lloyd, which was founded in Birmingham in 1840. The company was very successful and provided lamps to the Titanic and The Orient Express among others.

But Best was not interested in old traditions and looked for new and exciting developments out in the world.
In the 1920’s he travelled in Europe and visited The Exhibition of Modern Design in Paris in 1925. There met the greatest modernist designers in the world - Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier - and was fascinated with their way of designing.

Best really wanted to make something useful and without a lot of unnecessary features. In the same period he also met Walter Gropius, a German designer and later the leader of the modernist school in Germany – Bauhaus.

This is also the period when Best created the first sketches for the Bestlite lamp. He came home to England and presented the idea to his father, who was not impressed. It took quite a bit of convincing but Bestlite eventually went into production, athough initially it was only bought by auto shops and the Air Force.  

The breakthrough came when the lamp was shown in Architects Journal, and later on British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had a Bestlite lamp on his desk. Churchill reportedly always took the lamp with him on his travels.

Today, almost 90 years after the birth of Bestlite, the lamp is still a great success. The lamp is currently produced by the Danish design brand GUBI, and the lamp is still as beautiful and stylish as it was back then.
Bestlite BL5 Wall Lamp ø16 Chrome/Black - GUBI
RRP EUR 699.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL7 Wall Lamp Ø16 Black Brass/Classic White - GUBI
RRP EUR 499.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL9 Pendant Ø21 Brass/Porcelain - GUBI
RRP EUR 499.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL4 Floor Lamp ø21 Brass/Black - GUBI
RRP EUR 1,199.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL2 Table Lamp ø16 Chrome/Black - GUBI
RRP EUR 699.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL3 Floor Lamp Ø16 Black Brass/Porcelain - GUBI
RRP EUR 1,199.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL9 Pendant ø16 Brass/Porcelain - GUBI
RRP EUR 449.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL9 Pendant ø21 Brass/Matte White - GUBI
RRP EUR 449.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL3 Floor Lamp ø21 Chrome/Matte White - GUBI
RRP EUR 1,199.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL9 Pendant Ø21 Black Brass/Porcelain - GUBI
RRP EUR 499.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL5 Wall Lamp Ø16 Black Brass/Classic White - GUBI
RRP EUR 699.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL9 Pendant Ø16 Black Brass/Black Brass - GUBI
RRP EUR 399.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL5 Wall Lamp ø16 Brass/Grey - GUBI
RRP EUR 699.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL6 Wall Lamp ø16 Brass/Grey - GUBI
RRP EUR 699.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL5 Wall Lamp ø16 Brass/Black - GUBI
RRP EUR 699.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL5 Wall Lamp ø16 Chrome/Porcelain - GUBI
RRP EUR 799.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
Bestlite BL5 Wall Lamp ø16 Chrome/Matte White - GUBI
RRP EUR 699.00
Expected in stock: 10 - 14 days
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