Wow, I thought when I saw the bulky theater spotlight there on the pavement at the auction house. It had a thick body with perfect Bakelite switches on the side propped atop a metal leg that I feared could not hold its weight.
I’d never seen a stage spotlight at auction before, and this one became a conversation topic. Several of us looked it over, walking around it, peering inside the round front opening, flipping the colored switches on the side and adjusting the heavy head. Through the opening, I could see several square color screens – red, orange, green, black – that the seven switches controlled.
I read the inscription on the side: Times Square Stage Lighting. Stony Point, NY, Follow-Rite. I later found out that the company was formed in New York City in 1934 and later moved its manufacturing plant to Stony Point. It still has a New York showroom. (Click on photo for a full view of the light.)
The light stood almost as tall as me and seemed just as heavy. It took a strong person to handle this baby. It had a few dents, bruises and some rust spots, and it still had its cord. The light likely once resided in one of New York’s Broadway, Off-Broadway or other theaters.
It brought back images from old movies of a man behind a spotlight holding it fixedly on an actress or actor on stage. It also brought to mind klieg lights. I found out through Googling that those were named for two brothers, John and Anton Kliegl, who founded their light company in 1896. Their klieg lights revolutionized film-making, allowing the industry to take movie-making indoors by turning night into day. The company also provided lights for theatrical productions, schools, golf ranges, hotels, museums, Madison Square Garden and the Metropolitan Opera.
The first spotlights were lime lights developed in the mid-19th century to highlight actors and specific spots on the stage, among other uses, according to this history of stage lighting. The Metropolitan Opera of New York began using them in 1903. A five-inch baby lens electric spotlight was used in the 1904 show “The Music Teacher” by theater producer David Belasco. The concept of lighting design, according to the website, was first developed during the 19th century, and a man named Abe Feder invented the position of lighting designer in the 20th century.
I found this 1930s klieg light selling for $395 on the site Urban Remains. Here’s a 20th century polished chrome movie spotlight – a beauty – on another website.
I could find no vintage light exactly like the one at the auction, not even on eBay. I did find similar new ones selling for up to $1,200. A compact design, these lights – called Follow Spot – were being marketed to small theaters, churches and clubs.
At the auction, bidding was fierce on the spotlight. At least two people wanted it, and wanted it badly. I could understand because it was a unique buy. By the time the bidding was over, it sold for $325.
“It’ll look nice in someone’s loft in New York,” said my auction-buddy Janet, a New York native (from Brooklyn).
