July 10, 2004
#151 :: Art Deco bullet reading lamp
A hard-jawed private dick would never furnish his offices. He'd pay a guy, unload the water-damaged boxes of case files from the beaten trunk of his Chrysler Airflow - no, wait, his clapped-out old Nash - and move in. He'd sag into the gutshot leather club chair, kick his feet up on the fringe of cigarette burns ringing the sagging mahogany desk and pour a shot of something strong into the cold cup of coffee he got six blocks and three hours away before he finally found this damn place. He'd look up at some point, and notice this little thing clipped to the old bookshelf behind him, and switch it on. Dim light would pool across his shoulder, the arm of the chair, the chipped mug. And he'd sigh, flip open a file and dig in. Two hours later, smoke-stung eyes would force him to close the file. He'd knuckle his lids and reach up to switch off the lamp - and immediately earn a wicked burn across the fingertips from the bulb-cooked metal. He'd curse and suck his fingers for a second, shooting a glare at the convex glass lens capping the little bullet shape - at the pointless token air vents, and resisting the urge to wrench it off the shelf and put it through the frosted glass of his o.:ffice door. Once more, he'd reach up and gingerly tweak the switch, this time finding darkness. Then he'd shrug on his rank trenchcoat and lurch out into the night. (Five bucks at a flea market years ago. I just rewired it the other day. It looks best with a clear bulb, which gives the light a fluid, "live" quality. It bears no maker's marks, and thus defies casual research.)