The neat vintage luminaire photographed here is the GE Form 109, the precedessor to the more common Form 400. GE introduced the Form 109 as a luminaire specially designed for mercury vapor lamps in 1948 and continued in production until around 1955, when the Form 400 was introduced. When I was growing up, I recall seeing Form 109s here and there while visiting my grandparents on the East Coast, and I thought it was something that only the East had, cuz I had never seen a Form 109 in California! More recently, I saw old photos of LA and other parts of Southern CA that had Form 109s. Finally, thanks to reference from a friend, I found a mini-string of 3 Form 109s still in service in Sacramento, the capital city of California. The photos here may seem to be two photos of the same luminaire, but they are actually two Form 109s, almost indentical photos, but I included both because I think it is nice to see 109s at slightly different angles to see what the glass looks like...has some sharp corners. The third one was not photographed because it was partially blocked by trees. Enjoy the pics!
