Think back to those dreary winter days when the sky seemed locked in cloud cover for all eternity. For many, a warm glow in the corner of our grandparents’ living room was the antidote to that dreariness. Among the most no-nonsense of these radiant remnants was the Sperti sunlamp. Hummy and buzzy and sleek and metallic, it could turn a gray afternoon warm and bright.
If you were a child of the ’50s or ’60s, you might remember the pool’s cool blue glow and the way it would cast mysterious shadows on the walls and floor. The sunlamp wasn’t just the eccentric’s kitchen Excalibur. It symbolized a postwar faith that science could reproduce the outside world inside the home.
The Sperti sunlamp was the very essence of midcentury health culture. With its chrome finish and perforated housing, it looked more like a prop in a science fiction movie than a medical instrument. But for a lot of families, this odd contraption was eaten regularly during the winter months. It was simple and daring in purpose; bring the benefits of sunlight into the home with UV light therapy. Whether to bronze the skin, elevate mood or treat certain skin conditions, it represented an era that had faith in invention to alleviate mundane woes.
This technique was developed in the 1930s by Dr. George Sperti. He designed it, Noël reckoned, to bring “natural light” indoors, enabling people to combat depression, treat skin conditions and strengthen their bones with a boost of vitamin D. By the middle of the 20th century, the Sperti sunlamp had taken its place in just about every American home worthwhile — right up there with refrigerators and washing machines. There were ordinary people who believed in science and who believed that science could make their lives better.