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| Flemish chandelier |
Every time I visit Dennis Severs' House I feel deprived and impoverished in my own home. Imbued with the spirit of times past, I reject the bright lights derived from electricity and return to the homely tranquility of bees wax candles.
I wish I was more like my friend MG, who, after visiting Dennis Severs' House, mused on what sort of book one might set in it. Me, I plot and scheme of how I might change my own home into a similarly enchanted abode. All a huge amount of work, and tough on the budget.
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| Lotus lamp |
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| The flower opens and closes, you know! |
This time around I was hit especially hard - well, I had time on my hands before going on to my new job in London, so could afford to spend some time on my nostalgic tendencies.
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| Modern mirrored device - bright but terribly modern |
I bought firstly, a Flemish chandelier from the 1890s, secondly a lotus lamp which I equipped with a 10 watt light-bulb which is almost like a candle, thirdly a modern device made of mirrors, fourthly a set of candles mounted in front of a brass oval plate, fifthly a brass mirror in which to reflect a candle, and lastly a Normandy Lacemakers Lamp - all pictured in this post.
Not sure which ones I will keep - some would make excellent Christmas presents!
The Lacemakers Lamp was quite a bit of work, because someone had converted it to electricity, and I had to prise open the bottom to get into the inside. I ripped out all the modern accoutrements, and turned the lamp back to its old self, using a bamboo chopstick as the candle push-up stick.
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| Lacemakers Lamp |
The trouble with reading by candle light is that the light is rather dim, so by placing the candle in front of a mirror - as in the modern device, or inside a polished metal surface - as in the Lacemakers Lamp, one can increase the amount of illumination cast upon one's page.
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| Candle in front of mirror |
The Blaker below is handcrafted in Germany by Hans-Ulrich Walther and a lucky Ebay find - I paid less than 10% of what they are new. These devices used to be hung in rich people's houses to aid in their illumination, and really are quite effective. Also look very classy!
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| German made Blaker |
This evening I shall sit in the splendor of all my candles, reading Dickens and eating sugarplums, and feeling 150 years older than I really am!
Happy weekend!
