In college I was befriended by the only true playboy I’ve ever met. Roberto Cerinni. From Orange County, with an affected accent somewhere between Naples and Brooklyn, he presented himself as a foreign exchange student.
Joe Magarac Squeezes Steel Rails between his Fingers, Courtesy of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
During the late 18th century, London was full of strange characters who attracted attention to themselves for one reason or another, but perhaps none so much as Jonas Hanway. A former merchant who spent several years working in Persia and Russia, Hanway was known for his eccentricities as well as his near mythic travel stories. He was wholeheartedly dedicated to various philanthropic activities, including governing an asylum for women and the poor and writing tracts about problems within the British prison system.
The Beatles, 1965
Let’s sidestep all the financial and psychological aspects of gold for a moment and just admire it for what it is. A freakishly beautiful material. Although this might seem obvious, it is not as universally accepted as one might think. The Gold Coast natives of Timbuktu believed that their heaping surplus of gold was actually only worth its weight in salt, and traded it accordingly.
32.15 Ounces of .9999 Fine Gold (24k), Today's Value: $ 35,898
I say aluminum, you say (if you’re the rest of the world) aluminium – let’s call the whole thing off! At this point you would have to have your head buried in bauxite (aluminum in its naturally occurring form) to not be aware of the impact aluminum has had on the modern world.
Frozen Fried Shrimp Dinner with Tangy Cocktail Sauce for Extra "Home Style" Touch
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 settings where today plastic is the number one material of choice: barbecues, parties and picnics.
Bascal Aluminum Tumbler, 1950s
I was excited when I found this 1950s aluminum ice cube tray. I couldn’t help but 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
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 were also called gentlemen’s knives and fit perfectly in the pocket of a suit, trousers or even a dress shirt.
Landers, Frary & Clark, New Britain, Connecticut
I was happy when I found these photos of the Telefunken Match transistor radio in the archive on the Delft University of Technology website. When transistor radios first came out in the mid 1950s, they were considered a status symbol. The very first one, the Texas Instruments Regency TR-1, cost more than 350 dollars by today’s standards.
Telefunken Match Transistor Radio 1963
Stainless steel is a material that’s easy to fall in love with. It is sleek, shiny, strong, doesn’t flake or wear-off and has a nice smooth feel to it. And stainless steel’s beauty is long-lasting, which it owes to its most notable characteristic – it doesn’t rust. Stainless steel has brought such vast changes to industries as automotive, aviation, food, machinery and medicine that it can easily be called the metal of the 21st century.
IBM 1440 with Stainless Steel Front Panel 1963
If the main purpose of an ashtray is to hide cigarette butts so you always think it’s your first one, then Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) did a good job. I like it when form follows function. Jacobsen is mainly known for his chairs, but he also designed about twenty household products for the Danish company Stelton.
Designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1967
Alexander Calder
By the end of his nearly century-spanning career, Alexander Calder (1898–1976) had worked in virtually every artistic medium, but metal was undoubtedly his muse. Raised by artist parents, Calder was encouraged to be creative from an early age, producing his first sculptures at age 11.
Calder, Untitled (Mobile), 1959, Courtesy of The JPMorgan Chase Art Collection
READ MORE…