In the early 1950s, a new line of lamps appeared. The first to see them may have thought they were best suited for the night skies over Texas.

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Instead, consumers could buy them to achieve the perfect fab look for their forward-thinking homes. The odd, glowing shapes hovered over rooms with the support of a single cord, and with the flip of a light switch homeowners could wordlessly announce their cultural relevance.

Their designer, George Nelson, dubbed them Bubble lamps, which is really as good a description as they need. Unless you want to add a few adjectives, such as "unworldly," say. Or "spectral." Or "relentlessly cool." Their organic forms may have looked like creased paper at a distance, as if somebody had turned origami into lamps. But they were actually made with plastic and steel.

Howard Miller, for which Nelson designed the lamps (his first example dates to 1947), sold them until 1979, when they officially disappeared from the retail market.

For a while, fans of Bubble lamps had to settle for used models. Or, if they merely wanted to bask temporarily in their glow, they could view the lamps at the Museum of Modern Art, where they enjoy a place in the permanent collection.

Happily, Modernica, a retailer that specializes in modern and contemporary furnishings, brought Nelson's Bubble lamps back onto the market in the 1990s.

While the Modernica line follows Howard Miller's original specifications and toolings, the company overrode Nelson's decision not to name each of his Bubble lamp designs. Now, Modernica offers the reissues under evocative names like the pear, the cigar, and the saucer.

Given Bubble lamps' popularity today, they seem unlikely to fade back into the darkness anytime soon. But if they do… watch the skies.