Chapter 11 · Cabinet props

Props of cabinets and chains

Tags, hooks, rings and carabiners: the small hardware of maps, lists, landings and stacks.

Two small wooden tag boards hang side by side on a pale wall. On the left board a single numbered brass-ringed tag hangs alone from its hook; on the right board the same numbered tag hangs with a little drawstring pouch tied on beside it, and both boards are otherwise bare.

Picture path

  1. Two matching boards hang side by side: one hook holds a bare numbered tag, the other holds the same tag with a small pouch tied on beside it. What contrast is shown?Both hooks are occupied; the only difference is whether anything hangs beside the tag.
  2. A single brass hook set in a wooden lattice board holds nothing at all — no tag, no pouch. What does the empty hook say?Notice there is no tag at all on the hook, not even a bare one without a pouch.
  3. A roped waiting line runs between two matching wooden service counters, one standing at each end. How can this line be served?Count the counters and notice that each end of the rope line can release a person.
  4. A plain unmarked steel ring hangs from a wall hook, and the chain's first link is clipped beneath it. What is the ring?The ring carries no size or number of its own and hangs above link one, outside the chain.
  5. While a hanging chain is being reworked, a carabiner on a knotted rope stays clipped to the link just past the open joint. What does the clip preserve?The clip grips mid-chain and holds its link only for as long as the rewiring lasts.
  6. Four steel chain links lie in a row, each larger than the one before. What do the growing sizes record?Check what kind of object carries each number: pieces made to clip one into another.
  7. On a stair landing the handrail stops at a post finished with a smooth ball cap, and nothing continues past it. What does the cap mark?The post ends the rail and holds nothing; look for anything stored or continuing beyond it.
  8. Set into the landing's wall, a square niche holds a small pile of grey pebbles. What does the pile stand for?Something countable is genuinely stored in the recess — the niche is not empty.
  9. A domed lid caps a tall tower of plates, fitting the topmost plate exactly. What is the lid doing?The dome pairs off with the newest plate only; nothing pairs with the plates buried below.
  10. A small pale table has been dragged across the floor to join a big dark table that shows no scuffs at all. What rule moved it?Follow the scuff trail: only the smaller table travelled, and the larger never moved at all.