KAUFMANN MERCANTILE

Aluminum Cup

subtitle: A Plastic Cup From 1950

By Sebastian Kaufmann | 7 Feb 10 | Kitchen, Metal | 5 Comments

I’m getting the feeling that for many household products, aluminum was the standard before plastic had it’s big breakthrough. These aluminum cups were popular in the 1940s and 50s in the same setting where today plastic is the number one material of choice: barbecues, parties and picnics.

Bascal Aluminum Tumbler, 1950s

Bascal Aluminum Tumbler, 1950s

SAFETY RAZOR

subtitle: The Indisposable Shaving Solution

By David Vega | 5 Feb 10 | Beauty, Materials | 2 Comments

I was walking on the beach not long ago and came across a sight not entirely uncommon in Southern California - a pile of trash. Scattered amongst this little hill of debris situated along the foamy line where surf meets sand, was: A plastic lighter, an empty Dasani water bottle and a Gillette disposable razor. Further down the beach lay a Bic ballpoint pen. Now, how is it that both Gillette and Bic, who’ve won over consumers with the offering of cheap lighters, razors and pens, keep us convinced that plastic is the material of choice? When did men’s little personal effects become so cheap, so… disposable?

Gilette Safety Razor Catalog, 1909

Gilette Safety Razor Catalog, 1909 / Razor Archive

Vinegar

subtitle: The Essence Of Life

By Jessica Hundley | 4 Feb 10 | Home, Kitchen | 2 Comments

First there was wine, beloved by the ancients. Then there was wine gone bad - a mishap of leaky casks or stashes gone past their prime that mutated into one of the most versatile products in the world. “Vin aigre” (which roughly translates to “sour grapes”) is a combination of acetic acid (aka ethanoic acid) - an organic compound which is the result of the miracle of fermentation - chemical reactions activated by the slow decay of everything from grapes to beets, malts to grains.

Chemical Formula of Oxidative Fermentation: Making Acetic Acid

Chemical Formula of Oxidative Fermentation: Making Acetic Acid

Aluminum Ice Cube Tray

subtitle: Faster Ice Cubes

By Sebastian Kaufmann | 1 Feb 10 | Kitchen, Materials, Metal | 8 Comments

I was very excited when I found this 1950s aluminum ice cube tray. I couldn’t help but to imagine a wealthy Palm Springs divorcee lounging poolside, brightly colored fingernails on her sun-leathered hands, levering ice cubes for a Tom Collins. The best thing about using aluminum is that it makes ice much faster. Plastic and rubber trays are quite inadequate, as they act as insulators between the freezing cold and the water.

1950s Aluminum Ice Cube Tray with Lever

1950s Aluminum Ice Cube Tray with Lever

Body Soap

subtitle: A Brief History of Soap Making

By Jessica Hundley | 29 Jan 10 | Beauty | 5 Comments

The science of soap is more complex than one might imagine, requiring at least a rudimentary knowledge of chemistry. Even the most basic ingredients of soap rely on key reactions with other ingredients - a give and take that makes you wonder that we ever figured out how to make soap in the first place. It makes some sense then, that the creation of cleansing products was supposedly discovered by accident.

Ivory Soap Advertising with WWI Soldiers, 1919 (Click on Image to Read the Homoerotic Undertone)

Ivory Advertising with WWI Soldiers, 1919 (Click on Image to Read Copy)

Horn Spoon

subtitle: The Tastier Choice for Eggs And Caviar

By Brion Paul | 27 Jan 10 | Kitchen | 5 Comments

One of nature’s very useful materials, horn (Ox, Buffalo, Stag, Ram and Bison) has historically been utilized in a number of applications. As seen here, it’s a material particularly suited to spoons. A true connoisseur of caviar and soft-boiled egg eating will tell you, nothing taints the flavor like metal, and horn offers an unrivalled purity of taste.

Paper Making

subtitle: An Industry In Dire Need Of Change

By David Vega | 25 Jan 10 | Materials, Wood | 2 Comments

Paper has been a key factor in communication and learning and can be traced back to 3000 BC. In those days, Egyptian craftsman cut the stems of the djet or tjufi plant (papyrus in Greek), a tall freshwater reed belonging to a group of plants known in Biblical references as bulrushes. The Egyptians cut the reed into thin strips, softened them in the muddy waters of the Nile, then layered them in right angles. They then pounded the mat into a thin sheet and left it out to dry in the sun. It was clearly a labor-intensive affair, and most likely won the respect of producers and consumers alike; for this reason, it was saved for very important records, fine art, and religious texts.

Paper Stack

Image by John Hubbard

Porcelain

subtitle: White Gold

By Brion Paul | 22 Jan 10 | Materials | 4 Comments

Time often functions as a test of a material’s worth, its usefulness in the grand scheme of things. The practicality and lasting relevance of materials like wood, wool, metal reach far back into our history, better equipping humanity for our spritely sprint towards inevitable obsolescence. While as awesome and as taken for granted many fundamental building blocks for existence are, when taking a closer look at the less thoroughly appreciated, less obvious contenders, little revelations rear their heads, perhaps none more than porcelain.

Cockatoo by Johann Joachim Kändler, Meissen Porcelain, 1734 / Rijksmuseum, Neatherlands

Cockatoo by Johann Joachim Kändler, Meissen Porcelain, 1734 / Rijksmuseum, Neatherlands

Mother Of Pearl Pocket Knife

subtitle: A Gentlemen's Tool, Circa 1905

By Sebastian Kaufmann | 20 Jan 10 | Metal, Tools | 5 Comments

In a time when it was unthinkable for a man to leave the house without his hat, it was just as unthinkable to leave without a pocket knife. Small, lightweight and high quality pocket knives are also called gentlemen’s knives and fit perfectly in the pocket of a suit, trousers or even a dress shirt.

mother-of-pearl-pocket-knife

Landers, Frary & Clark, New Britain, Connecticut

George Nelson Flip Clock

subtitle: A Clear Vision of Modern Design

By David Vega | 18 Jan 10 | electronics | 3 Comments

What is the crowning glory of your civilization… the symbol as clear a statement as the pyramids, the Parthenon, the cathedrals? What is this symbol? What is its name?

Its name is Junk.

Junk is the rusty, lovely, brilliant symbol of the dying years of your time. Junk is your ultimate landscape. - George Nelson, 1965

George Nelson Design for Herman Miller Clock Company, Circa 1950

George Nelson Design for Herman Miller Clock Company, Circa 1950

Butcher Block

subtitle: For Meat Eaters Only

By Jessica Hundley | 15 Jan 10 | Kitchen, Wood | 4 Comments

Since I am still in search of a good butcher in LA (alas, none to be found!) - I am finding myself delving further into the dissection of strange and exotic cuts of meat - at home. A recent purchase of a meat grinder (more on that soon!) has lead to a whole lot of chopping and cutting, slicing and dicing and a new search - for a superior place on which to cut.

American Meat Institute Advertising, 1940s

American Meat Institute Advertising 1940s

Du Pont Canvas Utility Bag

subtitle: The Set back of being a normal consumer

By Sebastian Kaufmann | 13 Jan 10 | Fabrics, Leather | 6 Comments

Sometimes, we as consumers don’t necessarily have access to everything quality and well made. Throughout history, the military has provided a fine example of an institution that reserves the right to some superior products for themselves. The dependence of a person’s life on a functioning buckle or zipper or the endurance of a material under extreme conditions, draws an attention to detail that consumers often don’t get the luxury to experience. Industry is another good example.

Corrugated Cardboard

subtitle: Plain Old Box

By David Vega | 11 Jan 10 | Materials, Paper, packaging | 5 Comments

I was recently on a search, looking by the bins near our neighbor’s apartment complex, peeking behind the store around the block, looking for the right one. And then I found her - a flat yet sturdy beauty, about 6 feet tall, pleasantly thick in all the right places, clean around the edges, and in excellent overall shape. I had found the mother of them all, a huge cardboard box, and what a great playhouse it would make for my 2-year old. As I threw the heavy carton into the back of my truck, I imagined what it must have carried, being so strong, and what it would become after I got through with it.

Carboard Container Advertising 1942

Carboard Container Advertising 1942

Wooden Snowshoes

subtitle: Walking Silently Over the White

By Sebastian Kaufmann | 8 Jan 10 | Leather, Outdoors, Wood | 6 Comments

Fresh powder snow doesn’t just look beautiful, it also swallows noise, making everything impossibly silent. But walking through deep snow is so strenuous that it’s nearly impossible to enjoy this simple pleasure - unless you strap on a pair of snowshoes. A recent article on the excellent 10engines blog sparked my interest to read more about the history of wooden snowshoes.

Wooden Snowshoe

Vintage Wooden Snowshoe with some Steel Wire Repairs

Seersucker

subtitle: Milk and Sugar: Seersucker and America

By Brion Paul | 6 Jan 10 | Fabrics | 2 Comments

The best design offers innovative solutions to the relentless stream of everyday challenges, uniquely reflecting and interacting with their origins. Seersucker, the brightly colored cotton fabric associated with Southern Gentlemen, J. Crew catalogs and Easter egg hunts, is certainly no different. Both an iconic achievement in fashion design and functionality, seersuckers ceaseless timelessness stands as one of America’s finest achievements.

Many products move from factory to garbage dump with little time in between. Poor design, low quality materials and bad food infiltrate our lives. Let's enjoy the good things instead.
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