Skip to content
Von WelsbachHeritage 1885

Heritage 1885

Carl Auer von Welsbach

1858 – 1929

Chemist, scientist, inventor. His work on light changed everyday life in the late nineteenth century.

  1. 1885

    A New Era of Light

    Auer von Welsbach developed the gas mantle: a fabric impregnated with rare earths that glows brightly and evenly in a gas flame. Patented in 1885, incandescent gas lighting made artificial light both brighter and more economical.

  2. 1898

    The Pursuit of Better Light

    With the osmium metal filament lamp he turned to electric light. The metal filament offered a markedly higher luminous efficiency than the carbon filaments of the day and pointed the way to later incandescent lamps.

  3. Today

    The Art of Light

    VON WELSBACH takes this pioneering spirit as its inspiration and translates it into contemporary design concepts – luminaires that understand light as an element of design.

Heritage design collage featuring a portrait of Carl Auer von Welsbach, historic drawings and the AURA 01
Design collage — a modern visualisation, not an original historical document.

Archive

Historical portraits, drawings and documents to follow.

Please note: VON WELSBACH is a contemporary brand of Mallet Consult GmbH. The story of Carl Auer von Welsbach serves as a documented source of inspiration. There is no continuous company history since 1885, and Carl Auer von Welsbach did not found today's brand.

Explore the Collections