Wednesday, March 17, 2010

76. The lure of the old


The dilapidated shop-front did not fill Helena with confidence. She checked the envelope that Jonas had thrust upon her the previous evening at the Sotheby’s auction in Queen Street.

‘It will so be worth your while. Go through the shop, heading toward his work area. In the corridor between the two, high up on the left, there is an absolute treasure!”

Cupping her hands against the plate glass, Helena peered into the dim interior. Even from the outside, the musty smell of an old-wares shop set her heart to beat faster. It had ever been thus, since she was twelve and tagging along behind Aunt Dora through the lane ways that criss-cross Chapel Street – a scavenger in training.

With the jangle of the bell in her ear, she negotiated her way through the jumble of other-people’s-treasures, and there it was as Jonas had described: a 1952 Wegner Cow Horn chair.

4 comments:

Joan Elizabeth said...

Goodness you'll have to show me what a 1953 Wegner Cow Horn chair is ... your mind must be filled with intriguing stuff like that.

I like the easy flow of this story.

Julie said...

Good, I can feel the flow. Here is what I have realised. Writing is a bit like photography. Peter taught Ann and I that it was okay to cut someone's head partly off, because the viewer somehow fills it in and "gets" what you are pointing at. The same with text. Less is more. You can make jumps and just partially describe. The reader comes with you. I think it may be called respect.

No, my mind is as mushy as the next persons. What I wanted was an indicator of personality/character. I knew that Helena (MY Helena) would not like Chippendate furniture but would like the lines of 1950+ Danish chairs. So that is what I went looking for. I adore wood. When I saw this chair, I knew that was what I would wish for Helena.

http://www.danish-furniture.com/designers/hans-wegner/#hans-wegner-cow-horn-chair

diane b said...

I'm glad she found it. I think you are in many of your characters, like Helene and her chair.

Joan Elizabeth said...

Thanks for the link. I could not for the life of me see how a chair could reflect a Cow Horn but it does!!