Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Pioneers of American Industrial Design, USA

well, it is time to get back this blog to life as well...you know, once you get it going, it is ok...but when you get into the hibernating mood...it is much more difficult to get out of it and start doing things...but enough of winter sleep, no?

and here is one FANTASTIC cover dear Bryon sent me last year...containing a full set of the Pioneers of American Industrial Design set which the USPS issued last year.



the whole set contains not more not less but 12 lovely stamps and Bryon as kind as he is, included them all! Thanks to him to the heaven and back for that...and for all the other amazing stuff he had sent me!
This set of stamps honours 12 of the nation's most important and influential industrial designers, where each stamp features the name of a designer and a photograph of an object created by the designer, as well as a description of the object and the year or years when the object was created.

what made me post this cover today is actually the desk-telephone stamp..the other day some friends and I were discussing about the dependence of this world on electricity and how nowadays not even landlines are functioning when electricity goes off, since those telephones need electricity in order to be operational...compared to the past when we had this kind of rotary dial telephones..and the later a bit modern version of these. As much as these new portable telephones can be handy, since you can move freely around the house while you speak, i do feel sort of nostalgic for these old times....and as much as new technology can be useful, it is not perfect and has its faults too...

ok, lets go step by step with the stamps, from left to right, top row first....

- The Eliot Noyes stamp features a photograph of the “Selectric” typewriter, which was introduced by IBM in 1961 (I still keep one at home...and I LOVED using it when I was little....I didnt usually type something particular....just random thoughts that came to my mind, but i enjoyed typing :)

- The Gilbert Rohde stamp features a photograph of a clock created for the Herman Miller Clock Company in 1933. The clock is part of the John C. Waddell Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York

- here is the guilty stamp :) featuring a photograph of the Model 302 Bell telephone introduced in 1937, designed by Henry Dreyfuss.

- The Dave Chapman stamp features a photograph of two sewing machines from the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York

- The Frederick Hurten Rhead stamp features a photograph of two pitchers from the Fiesta dinnerware line designed for The Homer Laughlin China Company in 1936

- The Donald Deskey stamp features a photograph of a table lamp that Deskey designed around 1927–29

bottom row:

- The Greta von Nessen stamp features a photograph of the “Anywhere” lamp, designed in 1951 for Nessen Studio, Inc.

- The Russel Wright stamp features a photograph of a fork, knife, and spoon from the “Highlight/Pinch” line of flatware designed by Wright in 1950

- The Walter Dorwin Teague stamp features a photograph of the “Baby Brownie” camera, introduced by Eastman Kodak Company in 1934

- The Norman Bel Geddes stamp features a photograph of the “Patriot” radio, designed for Emerson Radio and Phonograph Corporation in 1940. The radio is part of the John C. Waddell Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York.

- The Peter Müller-Munk stamp features a photograph of the “Normandie” pitcher, introduced by the Revere Copper and Brass Company in 1935. The photograph is from The Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal.

- The Raymond Loewy stamp features a photograph of a pencil sharpener prototype created in 1933

If youd like to read a bit more in-depth about each of these designers, click on the link here. It will take you some extra time, but it is worth it.

Just to mention, that these stamps belong to the Forever series.