Welcome | Bienvenue | The Glow of Lava Galleries | The History of the Original British "Lava Lamp" ::: Welcome to www.glowoflava.com, a website dedicated to the history, heritage and nostalgia of the Original Mathmos Astro Lava Lamp | The World's First Lava Lamp - www.glowoflava.com is created by Anthony Voz. This is the historical archive regarding the legacy, history and culture of the original British lava lamp | This is www.glowoflava.com | Email Us: astrohistory@googlemail.com ::: Welcome to the Glow of Lava, dedicated to the history and the story of the lava lamp, invented in the United Kingdom by Edward Craven Walker and first launched to the world's gaze with its bubbling, free flowing presence in 1963. The world's first lava lamp was known as the Astro lamp and it in turn became so successful that it created a category of products known as the Astro range. Products such as the Astro, Astro Mini, Astro Nordic, Astro Lantern and Telstar captivated the 1960s with their glow and intensified in the 1970s. The appeal of the lava lamp revived to cult fame once again in the 1990s, being produced by the original owners now known as Mathmos. This website features an eclectic range of brochures, photos and rare images which tell the beautiful story of Mathmos' invention of the lava lamp. So to start lets take a look at vintage brochure advert for Crestworth at a trade show. Vintage images on this website display a great range of Crestworth lamps such as the iconic Astro, Astro Nordics with their beautiful cone shaped base, the traditional & nautical inspired Astro Lantern and the smaller, sleeker, sister product to the Astro, the Astro Mini, to name a few beautiful Crestworth lava lamps. This is then followed with images of the Mathmos era starting in the 1990s that revived the original lava lamps. |
www.glowoflava.com | The Iconic Original Designs within the Astro Range. Please see slide below. The Astro lamp is a phenomenal product of innovation being within the realm of art as it presents its dazzling sculptural organic light forms, yet being a technical achievement to bring to market. This vintage photo below showcases some of the world's very first lava lamps designs and great Crestworth Classics. From the left we have the Astro, the iconic first design by Mr Walker that has become the iconic shape of this great product. Asro is followed by Astro Nordic featuring both Silver and Copper finishes and both Astro lava liquids and Glitterlite. Then this photo also shows a vintage Crestworth Astro Lantern (later design) featuring the Starboard colour way and the vintage Astro Mini on the far right. |
www.glowoflava.com | The Iconic First Design | The Iconic Astro Lamp's Journey Please see slide below. The Astro lamp is a phenomenal product of innovation being within the realm of art as it presents its dazzling sculptural organic light forms, yet being a technical achievement to bring to market. This intersection and balance of art and technology that was poured into the Astro lamp creates a wonderful fusion that is distinctively unique within lighting. This early Crestworth advert showcases where Astro and Astro Mini would be perfect and would fit into day to day life. The advert displays the lamps in various scenarios such as: in the home, in the bar, in the waiting room and in the restaurant or night-club. Astro was designed to be special, the creativity, engineering, talent and mind that went into it created an object so distinctive. Take a look into the Astro lamp and you will see why it is the perfect definition of its era and the genius of the its inventor Edward Craven Walker. Astro was the first of Crestworth's products that was designed from the perspective to not just illuminate but to be kinetic, ambient and entertaining, a philosophy that would be shared with the future at Crestworth. In many ways the Astro was the first kinetic ambient piece of lighting for the home. Astro became so successful that it developed into a range at Crestworth, with a multitude of different designs. Crestworth's lighting was a revolution on all facets, unlike other lighting of the time that was designed to be purely functional their pieces were designed to be specifically light entertainment. The Astro lamp continued in the 1990s in the Mathmos years and is still an icon today, and still in production. Below one can see vintage lava lamp advertisements, an early copper finished example and even Mathmos 1990s brochure material showing the iconic Astro lamp. This advert describes the Astro lamp as: "The exotic new conversation piece styled to fit any mood any decor in the home and all discerning establishments" |
www.glowoflava.com | E. Craven Walker Japanese Business Card. Please see slide below. Below one can see a business card for Mr Edward Craven Walker, the President of Crestworth Ltd. and the inventor of the original Astro Lamp. This business card also shows the early address of Crestworth, predating the famous Sterte Avenue premises used by Crestworth and also by Mathmos later on. This business card was one of many, gifted to Edward Craven Walker by a Japanese distributor of Crestworth's lamps thus the Japanese translation on the reverse of the card. |
Crestworth Astro Mini | The Second Design | Mini but still all the fun Please see slide below. Crestworth's second design: Astro Mini took the magic of Astro and presented it in a sleeker, thinner version, and created a second classic. This early boxed Astro Mini shows the early packaging and an early edition with the open base design showing the visible wiring. Later editions had a black plastic insert into the base, which concealed the wiring. I wonder if Crestworth knew how important their work would be in the future and the future legacy of the lamps. Astro Mini still keeps its timeless lines and is known as Astro Baby today. |
www.glowoflava.com | Crestworth Ltd | Crestworth Cosmos | Crestworth Elegance Please see slide below. One of the many genii of Edward Craven Walker was the development of the Astro liquids, where the base contents would sculpturally flow within the masterfluid encased in the glass bottle, to produce the stunning mysterious organic shapes. The original first design known as Astro is a classic, however Crestworth also developed many other derivatives of the Astro lamp such as the Astro Nordic. Nordic features tubular bottles and a graceful base elevated on a cone stand, that creates a stunning design. In fact this is one of www.glowoflava.com's most favourite lava lamps of all time. |
www.glowoflava.com | Crestworth Ltd | Astro Lantern Please see slide below. One of the most traditional takes on the classic Astro lamp was the Crestworth Astro Lantern, designed by Crestworth for the more traditional market. Astro Lantern was inspired by nautical themes and presented the magic of the Astro lava lamp with the fascination of a sea lantern. Astro Lantern was offered in Port and Starboard (as seen below) colour combinations. |
www.glowoflava.com | Glitterlite Astro Nordic & Telstar featuring Amber Leaves Glitterlite Please see slide below. One of the many genii of Edward Craven Walker was the development of the Astro liquids, where the base wax would sculpturally flow within the masterfluid encased in the glass bottle. Astro Nordic: The original first design known as Astro is a classic, however Crestworth also developed many other derivatives and designs using glitter to produce beautiful visual effects. This Nordic design (please see images below) features tubular bottles and a graceful base elevated on a cone stand, that creates a stunning design. The models below feature Crestworth's Glitterlite formulation. Telstar: One can also see Crestworth's Telstar design which features a flared base. Telstar just like Astro Nordic was offered in both silver and copper finishes for a stunning effect. Furthermore Telstar was Crestworth's entry level lava lamp and offered in three liquid forms: Bubble, Fast Moving Glitter and Slow Moving Glitter. |
www.glowoflava.com | Crestworth Excellence | Vintage Wall Mounted Glitterlite Design Please see slide below. Crestworth's vintage wall mounted lamp design featuring the Nordic bottle is one of the most beautiful products in the history of the Astro lamp. This stunning piece is a true showcase of the wonderful design at Crestworth and the workmanship that was poured into their pieces. This wonderful design also featured the ability to provide a backlight to the piece which could be turned on or off as desired. This vintage glitter lamp piece is signature Crestworth at its very best. |
Crestworth Ltd | Aromalite Please see slide below. Whilst Crestworth is world renowned for their Astro lamp range, Crestworth also ventured into other lighting with products such as Mistrolite, Twiggy and Aromalite. Aromalite is an interesting extension of Crestworth's product range and showcases the perspective that Crestworth approached lighting from. Lamp designs were not created purely to illuminate but to also produce effects or perform a second function. Aromalite illuminates the but the heat from the bulb heats up the fragrance pads and activates the lamp's purpose. The top of the lamp features the a well where pads can be placed and the top has a cover that hides the pads and allows for the fragrance to be released. A perfect example of Aromalite can be seen in this graphic. www.flowoflava.com | Crestworth Aromalite Images kindly donated by George Mensah of Retro Love Deluxe - 260 Smithdown Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, Merseyside, L15 5AH |
www.glowoflava.com | Crestworth Vintage Excellence | The Princess Floor Standing Design Please see slide below. Designed to create a statement, Princess (as known by the collecting community) is the largest vintage Crestworth lamp, which is a showcase to the magic of the Astro liquids. Featuring a cylindrical container housed on a tripod styled base, this lamp makes a statement unlike no other and is a beautiful piece of vintage design. Princess is one of the most elusive Crestworth lamps and a stunning mysterious piece of Crestworth’s history. Below one can see the Princess at Mathmos' Heritage Vintage Lava Lamp Exhibition, held in 2009. Simply Amazing And Fascinating To Watch! |
The World's Largest Lava Lamp Designs | Fireball | Mathmos Vintage Lava Lamp Exhibition Please see slide below. One of the largest 1990s lava lamp designs produced by Mathmos in the early 1990s was the Fireball. Shaped like a rocket, Fireball is a stunning floor-standing lava lamp that features a special formulation, just like Crestworth's Princess allowing it to start up very quickly regardless of its sheer massive size. Fireball was seen at Mathmos 2009's vintage lava lamp exhibition, as seen below. Mathmos' vintage lava lamp exhibition reflected on the history of the British lava lamp, with vintage brochures, lamp designs and historical material. |
Mathmos Monster Lava Lamps | The World's Largest Lava Lamp Designs Please see slide below. Launched in 2010, with the Mathmos Smart Astro, Mathmos's Monster Lava Laps are giant cylindrical lava lamps, bespoke and made to order. These giant lamps are impressive, stunning and simply dazzling to watch. There are no words to describe how beautiful these lamps are and their sheer size. |
Welcome to www.glowoflava.com Mini Index, a site dedicated to the history, heritage and nostalgia of the Original Mathmos Astro Lava Lamp. Created by Anthony Voz. Thank you for visiting www.glowoflava.com | www.lightoflava.com | www.flowoflava.com