Box for Oreol incandescent light bulb

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

Box for "Oreol" incandescent light bulb

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.124

Description

A small rectangular cardboard box that originally held an incandescent light bulb (lamp), printed in an orange/amber and black scheme on buff card. One main face (first image) carries a stylized line drawing of a light bulb, the brand name "OREOL" set vertically within the bulb's outline, and the legend "MADE IN USSR" in orange at the base. One end panel (second image) is printed black with a decorative orange folk-style firebird/peacock-and-scrolls motif. Another face (third image) bears a printed black rectangle within which the bulb's specifications are handwritten in purple ink — reading approximately "127 v 100 w" (voltage and wattage) and "Cap E27/27" (an E27 screw cap), with a portion circled in red crayon/pencil. The box is worn, creased, foxed/soiled, and split along edges. It is the packaging only; whether the bulb is still inside is not evident from these views.

Use

Kept by Leopoldo Arús Gálvez.

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Made/Created

Place

Country

U.S.S.R.

Region

Eastern Europe

Continent

Europe

Edition

"Oreol" (Ореол) brand

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Leopoldo Arús Gálvez

Notes

owner

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

use, acquisition

Place

Country

U.S.S.R.

Region

Eastern Europe

Continent

Europe

Notes

production

Research Notes

Notes

The Soviet electric-lamp industry was spread across many plant cities — Moscow, Saratov, Tomsk, Brest, Orel/Oryol, Lviv, Tashkent, Fryazino and others — so "USSR" alone doesn't narrow it, and several cities are plausible. The name "Oreol" (Ореол, meaning "halo/aureole") is suggestive but not conclusive. There's a real temptation to link it to the city of Oryol (Орёл), which did have a lamp/electronics plant (the Oryol radio-lamp / electronic-devices factory) — the names look and sound similar in Latin transliteration. But "Ореол" (halo) and "Орёл" (Oryol/eagle) are different Russian words, and a product brand named for the "halo" around a glowing bulb is at least as likely as a place name.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

February 4, 2026

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 4, 2026