Props, pgs. 101, 103 & 105

pg. 101

• Bob's gun (in holster)
• a blue and white apron with red hearts for pockets
• a mauve and crimson kerchief
• a mashed tamale
• a dustpan
• a bag of garbage (probably full of previously posted props)
• a carmine-shaded table lamp
• a bowl of black olives

pg. 103

• Mark's headless soldiers

pg. 105

• a fresh drink
• a cigarette

Props, pgs. 89, 91, 93, 95, 97 & 99

pg. 89

• Charley's empty glass
• Dolph's crumpled beer can

pg. 91

• Gerald's wife's apron on a hook

pg. 93

• a cluster of glasses
• Naomi's found drink

pg. 95

• Inspector Pardew's fedora "now dented as well as spotted."
• a mirror
• crunching glass underfoot

pg. 97

• Inspector Pardew's white silk scarf
• the phone (Michelle holding it "at her crotch like a dildo")
• Iris Draper's spectacles dangling on a gold chain

pg. 99

• drinks
• cigarettes
• crushed napkins
• dried blood on the surface of things
• footprints of chalkdust disturbing the crime scene

Props pg. 36. 38. 40. 42. 44

p. 36

• Ros's glossy panties

p.38

• tube of red lipstick
• Daffie's drink: straight gin with maraschino cherry juice
• small black cigarillo
• Tania's 'Susanna and the Elders' paintings
• fresh pitcher of martinis

p.40

• gin bottle
• Howard's scout knife
• Anatole's french cigarette
• bottle of bourbon
• 2 wine glasses of vermouth
• cocktail napkins
  
• salt

p.42

• Howard's fractured lenses
• cocktail napkin
• ice bucket
• empty bottles
• avocado dip
• little cheese board and knife
• grapefruit
• steak knife
• canapes
• empty tuna cans
• cracker boxes
• dip mix packets
• bread
• homemade pickes and relish

p.44

• french cigarette
• saucepan
• crushed ice in Patrick's salty bitch
• beer
• old bottle of tequila
  

Props and Memory

This post on Boing-Boing reminded me a bit about the prop inventory we are doing.

I was looking at the list of props and imagining what it might look like if all the props mentioned in the book were accumulated and displayed.

The boing-boing post is about scientists studying memory... and suggesting that a memory, when recalled, plays out in one-seventh the time as the original experience.

How long does Gerald's Party last? 7-10 hours? If we were to present the memory of this party, it would last a little over an hour. But how? Is the memory "faster"? Are extraneous details edited out? Would the display of every prop from the book suggest the story they are a part of? What is left of the party when actions NOT related to the props are purged?

Props, pgs. 81, 83, 85 & 87

pg. 81

• no props

pg. 83

• dressing table stool
• two empty glasses, one with ice
• a can opener
• a medicine dropper
• shriveled oysters
• bumpy little marbles

pg. 85

• no props

pg. 87

• Charley Trainer's scotch, flying

Props pg. 26, 28, 30, 32, 34

pg. 26
pipe
lamps
apparatus stuck in Ros's mouth (an X-ray unit maybe)
tobacco pouch
hi-fi

pg. 28
knife
yellowed handkerchief
Tanya's spectacles

pg. 30
cop's hat
pistol
wrenches
glass cutters
hammers

pg. 32
fob watch
smashed film gear
tripod
Gerald's expansion-band watch
Alison's compicated green leather watch
roast beef sandwich

pg. 34
tweezers
filter paper
a pick glass
roast beef sandwich
sketchbook

Props, pgs. 77 & 79

pg. 77

• soft linen slacks
• a rust-colored open collared wrap-tie shirt
• socks

pg. 79

• Sally Ann's blue jeans
• needle and thread
• two whiskey glasses on the dressing table
• the half-eaten sandwich
• open jar of petroleum jelly
• the dressing table mirror
• a blood-stained sheet with a small brown hole burned by a cigarette
• coins
• crumbs
• a wet spot
• someone's false eyelashes

Props, pgs. 71, 73 & 75

pg. 71

• baby oil
• one of Mark's drawings, "It was a picture of a castle with a war going on, blood and flags flying, bodies scattered like jacks."

pg. 73

• Howard's scout knife

pg. 75

• Eileen's empty glass
• Gerald's electric razor
• a washcloth

Props, pgs. 61, 63, 65, 67 & 69!

pg. 61

• Gerald's wife's manicure set

pg. 63

• Tania's dirndl

pg. 65

• watches (on Lloyd Draper's arm)
• "Woody had something he was showing to everybody...."

pg. 67

• a gold loop (Alison's earring)

pg. 69

• bathtowel
• Tania's dirndl
• a valentine

Props, pgs. 53, 55, 57 & 59

pg. 53

• Noble's false eyeball
• three or four forks
• some money

pg. 55

• painting of Tania as "The Ice Maiden"

pg. 57

• bare bulb on the landing
• a new patch on Sally Ann's blue jeans that said "SWEET MEAT"
• a cigarette or maybe a joint
• another of Ginger's kerchiefs
• some books with plain green jackets
• a coin? a ring? a button maybe, a brass or silver button

pg. 59

• Mr. Draper's glittering arms held out like a robot's
• Dickie's all-gold wristwatch

Props, pgs. 47, 49 & 51

pg. 47

• potted plants
• another beer
• two glasses of vermouth
• the dark pudding of avocado
• the empty can

pg. 49

• icecubes underfoot
• a box of candies
• a button of chocolate in the middle of the little bowl of pudding
• Tania's bangles
• Tania's bloodsoaked dress

pg. 51

• that bottle
• dishes
• beer cans
• Charley's glass of scotch
• some knives and skewers
• Alison's fresh glass of vermouth
• Alison's husband's pipe

Props, pg. 37, 39, 41, 43 & 45

pg. 37

• Wormwood
• the bottle of vermouth
• Ros's panties
• a tiny pair of manicure scissors
• a thermometer

pg. 39

• a test tube
• the chafing dish
• miniature sausages
• the pitcher of martinis
• Anatole's tumbler of bourbon and ginger ale

pg. 41

• Howard's martini pitcher
• a couple of ice cubes
• the other cocktail napkins
• Anatole's cigarette stub
• the hot sausage, furry now with dust and lint

pg. 43

• smoked oyster on toast squares
• the bucket of empty bottles
• the two full wineglasses
• a ceramic bowlful (of miniature sausages)
• the avocado dip
• the big fluorescent lamp
• a dozen cans of beer
• dishes and dishes of prepared foods
• tins of sardines
• anchovies
• pimentos
• bags of sliced and copped vegetables
• patés
• dozens of sausages
• wrapped cheeses
• hot bread
• the butcherblock
• stirred dips
• biscuits and crackers
• sliced bread
• Patrick's glass

pg. 45

• the kettle of water

Props, pgs. 27, 29, 31, 33 & 35

pg. 27

• Pardew's unlit pipe
• Gerald's wife's butcher knife
• a hankerchief "wrinkled and discolored, clotted with dried and drying mucus"

pg. 29

• a pool of Ros's blood
• potted plants
• a flurry of paper and toilet gear
• the toolbox

pg. 31

• Howard's spectacles: both lenses cracked

pg. 33

• Mr. Draper's roast-beef sandwich, softly mangled at one end
• a can of beer
• a little piece of string
• chalk
• exposed film plates

pg. 35

• the last bite of Mr. Draper's sandwich
• crumbs
• Pardew's pick glass

Props, pgs. 14, 18, 20, 22 & 24

pg. 14

• butcher knife
• bouquet of parsley
• phone
• Vic's drink

pg. 18

• Dolph's can of beer
• potato chips
• flowered apron

pg. 20

• the cops' brass buttons and leather straps
• holsters
• vermouth
• pitcher of old-fashioneds with melted ice

pg. 22

• empty tray
• antique prie-dieu
• Naomi's shoulder-bag
• compacts
• cigarettes
• lipstick
• earrings
• bracelets
• spare hairclasps
• postcards
• safety pins
• handkerchief
• combs
• coins
• birth control pills
• antacids
• ticket stubs
• zippers
• buttons
• driver's liscense
• body and hair sprays
• maps
• matches
• tampons
• timetables
• thread
• newspaper clippings
• breath sweeteners
• photographs
• chewing gum

pg. 24

• Patrick's tweezers
• darts
• dart board
• officer's hat
• glass slides
  

Props, pg. 25

• Dickie's watch
• Alison's glass of vermouth
• a large Dutch billiard pipe and tobacco pouch

Props, pg. 23

• a ladies' switchblade
• addresses
• tranquillizers
• credit cards
• hormone cream
• shopping lists
• a toothbrush
• candy bars
• a dog-eared valentine
• flashlight
• vial of petroleum jelly
• sunglasses
• paper panties
• little balls of hair and dust
• a tube of athlete's foot ointment
• a half-completed peckersweater
• one knitting needle
• one of Gerald's Mexican ashtrays
• a fingernail file
• a silver pair of tweezers
• a bloody hair, or a thread maybe
• two glass slides
• a pair of transparent rubber gloves
• Dickie's toothpick

Props, pg. 21

• a tray of cold cuts ("There were four different kinds of cold cuts, laid out in perfect rows, lapped like roof tiles and spaced with parsley and sliced tomatoes.")
• an empty tray
• an empty whiskey bottle

Props, pg. 19

• the bottle of vermouth and pitcher of old-fashioneds
• photographic equipment
• a paintbox
• cables and cords
• a toolkit
• a tripod
• Inspector Pardew's fedora
• Inspector Pardew's white silk scarf

Props, pg. 17

• a tumbler of vodka and grapefruit juice - Patrick's famous "salty bitch"
• a French cigarette

"Salty bitch" caught my eye because the drink described is better known as a "salty dog".

Upon further investigation, I learned that "salty bitch" is also a slang term referring to someone who dampens the mood (could this be Ros?).

"Salty dog" can also refer to a pirate and a sex act in which two people have intercourse then meet later to perform oral sex on one another.

Props, pg. 15

• Tania's bloody dress
• a Byzantine icon depicting the torture of a saint