Falk, Stadelmann & Co. Ltd.
36 Basinghall Street London. (1882)
Colonial Building, Hatton Garden, London. (1884 – 1887)
83 - 87 Farringdon Road., London EC1. (1887  -   )

Brands: Efescaphone for radio receivers
               Efesca for components

Established in 1882 as glass manufacturers and importers of gas fittings, paraffin lamps, glasses, chimneys, and gas burners.

They also manufactured radio receivers and radio & electrical components from the 1920s until the 1930s.

The firm's primary production was the large-scale manufacture and supply of heating and lighting equipment which they continued until 1970.

Salamon Falk and his two brothers established the firm on January 16, 1882, at 36 Basinghall Street London as a manufacturing agency & importation of gas fittings, opal globes, gas burners silvered & polished sheet & plate glass. Shortly after the business developed into a more general one of lighting fittings for gas, oil, and electricity.

The company was incorporated as a limited company in 1887. The directors of the company were Mr. S. Guiterman (Chairman), Salomon Falk (Managing Director), and Bernhardt Thurnauer (permanent Director).

It was a private company in 1908.

By 1914, the company (with around 900 employees) was a manufacturer of all materials associated with lighting and heating, with their specialties being oil lamps, gas mantles, and electric lamps.

In 1902 they manufactured the very popular Veritas incandescent mantle from their factory in Farringdon Road, Wandsworth.

By 1920, it became one of the largest oil companies in Britain. The German 'Veritas' trademark was made available to Falk Stadelmann in London, and during the inter-war years, it became a major brand (the company marketed all kinds of wick and candle lamps). [1]

From the early 1920s until the early 1930s they also manufactured Efescaphone radio receivers & Efesca electrical & radio components. [2] Examples of their radio product presentations are described below in History (part 2).

 In 1928, it was reverted to a public company. By 1930, it employed around 3,000 people.

The company suffered poor trading years in the late 1960s, causing it to go into decline.

The company changed its name to Falks Limited in 1962 and to Falks Industries Limited in 1970. Subsidiary companies included Falks Heating Limited and Falks (N.Z.) Limited (until 1951 known as Welsbach Light Company of Australasia Limited).

It was taken over by Jessel Investments in the 1960s, and Jessel Securities acquired Falks Industries (including its subsidiaries Stoves Limited and Falks Veritas) in 1970. 

Description of Exhibit at the All-British Wireless Exhibition November 8 - 21, 1923.

Falk, Stadelmann & Co., Ltd. Stand No. 79.

This Company manufactures the Efescaphone receiving equipment. They have a crystal set which is introduced to meet the demand for a simple receiving set, well made, and offered at a reasonable price. A crystal and valve set are also shown which makes use of a reflex circuit arranged to provide high and low frequency amplification with crystal detection, and it is claimed that it will operate a loudspeaker within a distance of 10 to 15 miles from a broadcasting station.

One, two, and three-valve sets of particularly neat appearance can also be inspected, built either as enclosed cabinets or housed in box work with or without Iid, or for attaching to the wall.

A particularly neat power amplifier designed to be portable, and with a key for throwing one or two valves in the circuit, is of interest, the valves being enclosed beneath the panel.

A feature associated with all the Efescaphone receiving sets is the exceptionally neat layout and compactness, and the departure, in the design of the cabinet work, from conventional lines. [3]

Description of Exhibit at Olympia Radio Show September 1931.

Falk, Stadelmann & Co., Ltd. Stand No. 87

So many mains sets are now produced that the requirements of the battery-set user are apt to be neglected. Several new designs are shown covering the entire range of valve combinations. The sets are moderate in price and totally self-contained models are available, including loudspeaker. Mains-operated receivers are, however, shown in addition to a range of particularly low-priced battery eliminators.

A model priced at £4 gives 30 mA. at 150 volts and is fitted with three voltage tappings in addition to an S.G. potentiometer and four grid-bias voltage points.
A junior A.C. model giving 25 mA. at 120 volts and provided with two voltage tappings as well as the S.G. potential, priced at £3 10s.
 

Falk, Stadelmann also markets high-tension batteries, and the now well-known Puravox loudspeaker movement is also to be seen. [4]

[1] Gas Journal Jan 11, 1933, Page 88.
[2] Wireless Constructor Dec 1925, Page 250.
[3] Wireless World Nov 14, 1923, Page 219.
[4] Wireless World Sep 23, 1931, Page 342.