Figural neon and figural argon bulbs are beautiful but are getting rare.
They're still being made, though.
The bulb filaments come in all figures but I think the flowers are the prettiest.
I first took notice of these lamps in fall 1971 in an abbreviated 1971 Radio Shack catalog I owned
while looking for a possible Christmas gift for my girlfriend.
The figural neon lamps in that catalog were of flowers.
These lamps were still around in shopping mall gift stores in 1977,
but have become quite uncommon since then.
It took me 2-3 weeks of Internet searching to even find out their name again.
This rarity and obscurity gives them extra appeal, in my opinion.
Actually the flower is a filament inside the bulb, not part of the larger lamp,
which is one case of the bulb itself being the more appealing part of the lamp.
http://electriclights.tripod.com/bulbs/figuralneon.htm (1-1-06)
http://electriclights.tripod.com/bulbs/figuralargon.htm (1-1-06)
http://bulbcollector.com/article004.html (1-1-06)
Everybody's seen these, and they're still being made in large quantities,
so they've become a little too mainstream for my taste.
But my family used to own a small one in 1969,
and some friends of ours owed a full-sized one in 1969-1970,
so they definitely have nice vintage associations for me,
and they're definitely inherently interesting and inherently appealing.
I think the most appealing ones are those that really look like lava,
with a warm orangish glow.
I'll probably get my own, some day.
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa092297.htm (1-4-06)
http://www.oozinggoo.com/themyth.html (1-4-06)
http://www.oozinggoo.com/gallery.html (1-4-06)
http://oozinggoo.com/gallery/g-vintage.html (1-4-06)
http://www.geocities.com/beehappi/ (1-4-06)
Although glitter lamps are modern and therefore lack vintage appeal, I have to admit I liked the glitter lamps I saw in Tomorrowland in Walt Disney World right away. In fact, those were about the only souvenirs I truly liked from that area. Glitter lamps are a lot like lava lamps in shape and functioning, so at least they have a vintage look and feel. The aluminum housing and Tomorrowland association gives them a futuristic look, in my opinion.
I remember these came out around the same time as plasma lamps, around 1969. Every gift store seemed to carry fiber optic lamps, plasma lamps, and those gadgets onto which you press your hand to leave an impression via hundreds of small, sliding metal pegs, so I automatically associate those types of lamps with that era. Fiber optic lamps are definitely pretty, but there's not much inherent interest in watching them because they just sit still, unlike lava lamps and rain lamps. You can brush the fibers and watch the fibers sway for a while, but that's about it.
I believe I first saw one of these in 1969 in a gift shop in Seaport Village, in San Diego. I didn't really like it because it looked dangerous, with a visible spark. It wasn't until later on when I saw shoppers actually touching the ball's surface to attract the plasma that I realized they're harmless. But I still say they look dangerous, even if they're not. To me they are nice only in that they're pretty, exotic, and quite vintage by now, though I still don't quite like them enough to buy one.
This is another type of lamp whose appeal comes as much from the bulb
as much as from the surrounding lamp.
I first got turned onto these in 1969 from the Bratskellar Restaurant in La Jolla, California.
That restaurant was loaded with authentic German medieval decor,
a fireplace that filled the restaurant with rich wood smoke,
a suit of armor, mace and chain weapons hanging on the walls, stained glass,
and lots of massive chandeliers fitted with orange glowing flicker bulbs.
It was those bulbs that made the gothic chandeliers look so great.
This is definitely an ethnic / era type lamp-bulb combination, but with strong appeal.
The bulbs actually look a little phony when viewed up close,
but even so, they have a warm, glowing, firey look to them.
http://electriclights.tripod.com/bulbs/flickerflame.htm (1-1-06)
Exactly one of these turned me on to them in general: the one in the Alpine Inn on Disneyland's block in Anaheim, California. That motel has been around since at least the 1970s, probably the 1960s. It has artificial snow and artificial icicles on the roof everywhere, artificial frost on the window corners, along with Iceland poppies, branches for window frames, and other Swiss style architectural attributes, all of which give it real atmosphere. Over the passage under which cars pass is an uncurtained window with one of these lamps in the window, with a mysterious green light bulb inside, hung with jewel pendants. The warm green light inside the snowy window at night looks great. I haven't yet found the exact model lamp that the Alpine Inn has, though. Most similar models I've seen sell for several hundred dollars. There is a similar hanging Victorian lamp in the Swiss Family Treehouse at Walt Disney World.
These are just too cool.
Maybe you had to sit in dozens of darkened pizza parlors, Italian restaurants,
and other family restaurants in the 1950s-1960s to really appreciate the feel
and ubiquity of these motion signs because inherently they're pretty unsophisticated
and almost laughably gimmicky.
But by now I strongly associate the feel of those old restaurants,
the feel of the beer culture,
and the style of middle class Americans in that era with these signs.
Back then signs and lamps stayed still, except for animated neon signs,
so such motion signs were real attention grabbers for bored diners awaiting their food.
Palermo's Italian restaurant in La Mesa, California, 1970,
was the restaurant I remember best as having a river scene in such a sign on their back wall,
and my mother always commented on how much she liked that sign.
Motion signs are still commonly made, nowadays enhanced with sound effects of birds and water,
but it was the older,
simpler ones that celebrated beer as being associated with water and the outdoors
that really captured that specific cultural feeling.
Vintage signs of this type are now surprisingly expensive, often in the $1000 range.
There is a huge variety of styles, gimmicks, and scenes,
but the two types I remember the best were the rippling water ones,
especially with short waterfalls, and the colorful arcing fireworks ones.
http://www.davesden.com/breweriana/hamms/motion.htm (1-5-06)
I vaguely remember seeing these in the 1970s. The colored lights are triggered by sound and are intended to be psychedelic. Whether they're psychedelic or not, they're definitely pretty and definitely vintage, and are suitably out of the mainstream. These were advertised in Sears catalogs going back at least to 1968. One such light was called the Soundlite by Maytronics.
I haven't found a consistent name for these.
One site called an orange glass model a "globe oil lantern,"
another an "onion globe lantern," another an "onion lamp."
The main reason I like them is that Disneyland had them all over the
Swiss Family Treehouse, which was my favorite attraction.
Therefore they have definite vintage nautical associations, and a rugged, outdoor look.
They are also one of the few practical household lamps on this page,
bright enough to use for everyday indoor activities like reading or sewing.
http://lightnleisure.com/ProductPages/Outdoor_Lighting/OutL_Wall_page1.asp (1-1-06)
http://nauticaltropical.com/store/lampspage2.htm (1-1-06)
I believe I first saw one of these in a Chinese restaurant in El Cajon, California,
around 1969.
The lamp fascinated me so much that I took a flash picture of it,
the owner noticed me, and was extremely complimented that I liked his restaurant decor so much.
Blowfish lamps are standard decor for Polynesian restaurants, tiki bars,
and exotica music (there's one pictured on the cover of the CD
The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny,
for example).
Oceanic Arts in Whittier, California,
is supposed to be one of the largest suppliers of such lamps nowadays.
You don't see them very often anywhere else.
If searching for these on the Internet, also look for synonyms for the fish name,
such as blow fish, puffer fish / pufferfish, porcupine fish, fugu, etc.
http://www.oceanicarts.net/ (1-1-06)
I first took notice of these on a 2002 trip to Disneyland.
Such lamps were hanging all around outside of the Enchanted Tiki Room and
from balconies around Adventureland.
The only reason I noticed them that trip after so many prior trips is because I was extensively
photographing the area with a new digital camera.
They are definitely unusual and tropical looking and have associations with
the South Pacific / tiki culture.
http://www.shellhorizons.com/details.asp?ProductID=B1-20&Page=2 (1-25-06)
http://www.myriahs.com/publishhome/lights.html (1-5-06)
These are lamps made of thin, translucent clam shells from the Philippines.
I used to own one of those clam shells as a kid,
so I was fascinated that entire lamps were made out of them.
This is another lamp with Indonesian or South Pacific assocations.
Placuna placenta is the scientific name of this shell.
http://www.galleontrade.com/galleon/lamps.html (1-1-06)
http://shell.kwansei.ac.jp/~shell/pic_book/data25/r002459.html (1-1-06)
These primitive outdoor lights caught my attention even as a kid.
Various lanais, restaurants, and businesses occasionally used them in the 1960s.
They seem to be getting rarer nowadays, maybe since Hawaii is no longer a new state
as it was in the 1950s, so Hawaiiana fever is fading.
Adventureland in Walt Disney World and Disneyland have many of these
along walkways and on rooftops, and they fit perfectly there.
There's something fundamentally appealing about a primitive open flame
that makes for a nice constrast with our overcivilized, overrestricted,
overelectricized society.
Therefore I prefer the more natural looking tiki torches that don't have a lot of shiny metal.
http://www.beachsidelighting.com/torches.html (1-1-06)
These are outside lanterns, made of stone, used in Japanese gardens.
Such stone lanterns are called ishi-doro,
and the ones called snow-viewing lanterns are called yukimi-gata.
The yukimi-gata are intended to accept and beautify the harshness of winter
by providing a place for snow to gather in an attractive manner.
I like the idea of making unpleasant seasons and unpleasant weather beautiful
(that's how the Christmas holiday came about, in fact!),
and the idea of an actual flame struggling away inside cold granite
and cold snow, all alone in a garden at night, like a living heart beating,
and conveniently offering emergency survival warmth if it's ever needed.
I got turned onto these lanterns after buying a brochure from the Portland Japanese Garden in 1980
and reading about the philosophy of Japanese gardens.
http://www.japanesegardensupplies.co.uk/pages/stonelan.htm (1-4-06)
http://www.japangarden.co.uk/Buy-Traditional-Oriental-Granite-Lanterns-c-257.html (1-4-06)
http://www.kippo.or.jp/culture_e/nature/loving/hanami.htm (1-4-06)
I believe this type of lamp is modern, and eBay is full of them. Despite its lack of vintage appeal, such a solid, heavy object inherently commands respect, and its warm glow and association with nature and crystals has some natural appeal. These remind me of the glowing crystals inside Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland, California.
