Although most people notice the bankers lamp after seeing one in movies and TV-shows, some observant spotters may have come across one in a courtroom or library. Chances are you have seen one in a library somewhere, as they are not as common in courtrooms anymore. Nevertheless, there’s is a reason why they tend to appear in banks, libraries, and courtrooms in movies, it’s because they used to be a common feature there.

The answer to this is relatively simple. With the turn of the previous century, many public buildings were fitted with electric lighting, which meant that they needed electric lamps. It just turns out that around this time, the bankers lamp was rising to prominence.

Due to its popularity among the upper class, and the belief that the green shade was psychologically soothing and caused less eyestrain, they were fitted/introduced there in large numbers. With time, they became so common that they essentially became omnipresent with these buildings.

Read more about the history of the bankers lamp.

The reason behind it

The first electric lamps were fitted with light bulbs that gave off a quite sharp light which could cause eyestrain when exposed to it for long hours. This led to the idea of developing something to reduce the eyestrain from the light source.

It was said that green shades had the ability to block out certain wavelengths that caused eyestrain, which lead to the development of the green visors which were used by bookkeepers and accountants back I the days.

It was thought that lessening the eyestrain increased productivity. It was this combination the emeralite was marketed on, as it was marketed as a tool that could increase productivity, rather than just a nice lamp. In addition, individuals working desk jobs needed efficient, focused lighting, which the bankers lamp could provide with its characteristic green shade.

Although this theory of green light shades being psychologically soothing, causing less eyestrain and enhancing productivity has more or less been debunked since it is easy to understand why. The green shade gives off a comfortable light, which makes the theory believable. In combination with some clever marketing and design, it is no wonder they sold well, cementing their position as the classic desk lamp.

Are they still there today?

Today, most banks, courtrooms, and libraries have other types of lamps, however, they are still used in movie scenes set in any of these locations. Some examples include this bank scene from “500 days of summer”, this library scene from David Fincher’s “seven”, or these courtroom scenes from “law-abiding citizen” and “legally blonde”.

Read more about the bankers lamp in movies.

You are, however, likely to encounter a green bankers lamp or at least lamps with green light shades, in older libraries like the Boston public library, the French national library in Paris and in the royal library of Copenhagen.

List of libraries with green lamps shades/bankers lamps:

• Boston public library (USA)
• National Library of France (Paris)
• Deep river public library (Ontario, Canada)
• Madison historical library (Wisconsin, USA)
• German national library (Leipzig)
• National Library of Greece (Athens)
• National Library of Ireland (Dublin)
• National Library of Norway (Oslo)
• Royal Library of Copenhagen (Denmark)
• Library of the Hungarian parliament (Budapest)
• Szabo Ervin library (Budapest, Hungary)
• Vienna university library (Vienna, Austria)
• State Library of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia)
• George Peabody Library (Baltimore, USA)
• Grand bibliothèque Montreal (Canada)
• Russian state library (Moscow)

If you know about a library using green lamp shades, or bankers lamps, be sure to comment below so I can update the list.