Good shots of workers at Wotan lamps factory.
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Short Summary
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Description
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Data
- Film ID:
- 2378.17
- Media URN:
- 76107
- Group:
- Old negatives
- Archive:
- British Pathé
- Issue Date:
- 1910 - 1920
- Sound:
- Silent
- hd format:
- HD at Filmfinity
- Stock:
- Black & White
- Duration:
- 00:09:27:00
- Time in/Out:
- 01:38:31:00 / 01:47:58:00
- Canister:
- ON 280 A
Unknown user says
I believe this film is of the Siemens factory in Dalston, UK. It was opened in 1908 to produce the newly developed Tantalum filament lamps invented by the parent Siemens & Halske company in Berlin. Lamps were produced under the names of Siemens for the UK market, and Wotan for exports (Wotan was the trade mark of Siemens metal-filament lamps in Germany). By 1911 the tantalum filament was obsolete and the factory had been converted to produce tungsten filament lamps, which appear to be the type featured in this film. The factory was closed in 1923, because a few years earlier Siemens had formed a joint venture for making lamps with English Electric, whose Preston works were deemed to be superior and all lampmaking was concentrated there. So it is possible to identify the date of this film as being between 1911 and 1923, and its location at Dalston, East London. Your keywords also mention Osram and Wembley, but that was another factory elsewhere in London which is not related.
Unknown user says
This is definitely the Siemens lamp works on Tyssen Street in Dalston - the building is still there.
Unknown user says
The building is now called "Springfield House". The "Tantalum is strength" poster hangs on a south-east facing wall at 51 degrees 32 minutes and 48.3 seconds North Latitude and zero degrees, 4 minutes and 20.4 seconds West Longitude. (51.546759, -0.072325).
GAClayton says
Yes, most definitely this is the old Siemen Brothers Dynamo Works Ltd, Tyssen Street in Dalston, London. Just off Dalston Lane. UK Postcode E82LY. Now beatuifully renovated, restored and divided up into 100 seperate units and known as Springfield House. My grandmother, Minnie Tott, can be seen working at 4:25 into this film. WOTAN was not the actual name of the factory, but instead just a particular brand of lightbulb that was quite literally individually hand made here. Fascinating to watch this highly intricate and finacy handywork. They were clearly highly trained and skilled. Imagine workers blowing bulbs from simple strips of glass tube and a bunsen burner today!! Plus fitting the thin metal wire filament spiderwork is so fine! Amazing.