Brian Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I thought some of the younger forum members who've never seen a proper lighting desk might enjoy these... [WARNING - BIG PICTURES] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 That is a truly beautiful thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistermorton Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I thought some of the younger forum members who've never seen a proper lighting desk might enjoy these...<snip> Description here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin24 Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 That'll be in the Front entrance of LS Live/Backstage Academy yes??? I was looking at that just last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Or indeed these - which I think I've posted here before, but always worth a second look. :) http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/Ynot_01/Bentham1.jpg(Mr Bentham himself) http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/Ynot_01/Bentham2.jpg I think this one below MAY be the same deskj that Brian first posted... http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/Ynot_01/OldStranddesk.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 That'll be in the Front entrance of LS Live/Backstage Academy yes? I was looking at that just last week. That's the one. I think this one below MAY be the same deskj that Brian first posted... It is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_the_LD Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Ah yes - they are truly a work of art. I went up to Jim Laws place last year and he's got one of those, alone with the Light Organ and all manor of things in between! I truly have a lot of respect for the people that used to operate those things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seano Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I think this one below MAY be the same deskj that Brian first posted...It is indeed, I think I've posted pics of it before too. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_lambe Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o604/rich_lambe/Abbey-St-1-copy.jpgAnother angle. Pictured Mr Pat Farrell, Irelands Strand wiki, recently retired, greatly missed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatman Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 We had the TV equivalent of that desk (using saturable reactor dimmers) in the Thomson Foundation in the early 70's. It had been removed from STV's Theatre Royal studio after the fire in the late 60's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingwalker Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Oh how wonderful to see these again. I used to strip down and renovate most of Fred's designs as part of a group I was heavily involved in many years ago. Over a period of around 7-8 years we amassed over 600 lanterns and 350 boards / dimmers ranging from 1903 to the mid 1990's. The original intention was to put them all up on display but due to various situations this sadly never happenned in the end so most of the kit went over to Jim Laws to loook after. One of our little collection pieces was the original Patt23 prototype before the 5 million or so that went into mass production. We were even mentioned in Fred's book 60 Years of Light Work where I had the priviladge of meeting the man three times before he died. Happy days :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomG Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 That'll be in the Front entrance of LS Live/Backstage Academy yes??? I was looking at that just last week. I was there last month too. Brilliant Studio :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior8 Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Younger visitors please also click the link that takes you to this page as well as well as it's crucial to realise that, between them, Fred Bentham and Moss Mansell really manged to semi-automate what was a dimmer rack that resembled nothing more than a Grand Master! The complexity of these large controls is obvious but a lot of things like grouping and the ability to over-ride individual dimmer settings with blackout switches were quite sophisticated. But as Fred always stressed the real advantage of their electro-mechanical systems, the lower picture, was that once set to a level the dimmer stayed there until you intervened to move it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam L F Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I think I just fell in love! (with the lovely light organ, just to be clear...:D) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oilyspark Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 It's now two years since I posted about Betty, the first of the System CD boards made for the Palace Shaftesbury Ave, in this thread here (scroll down the thread for a picture). I am pleased to say that from next year Betty should be on display in working order and coupled up to a demo rig for you to try your hand at, in our vintage lighting exhibition, although this depends on me pulling my finger out and completing the interface that allows her to operate electronic dimmers. If anyone is interested I can post some pics of Betty's ongoing restoration. Lucien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.