In the late 1920s, "streamlined" became the term businessmen used to described new models that were easier to produce as well as those that met with less sales resistance than older products. Illustrating this concept with streamlined objects from soup cans to the Chrysler building, Jeffrey Meikle's classic book, "Twentieth Century Limited", celebrates the birth of the industrial design profession from 1925-1939. This second edition includes a new preface and improved photographic reproduction. Commercial artists who answered the call of business Walter Dorwin Teague, Norman Bel Geddes, Henry Dreyfuss, and Raymond Loewy the best known among them were pioneers who envisioned a coherent machine-age environment in which life would be clean, efficient, and harmonious.Working with new materials chrome, stainless steel, Bakelite plastic they created a streamlined expressionist style which reflected the desire of the Depression-era public for a frictionless, static society. Appliances such as Loewy's Coldspot refrigerator "set a new standard" (according to the advertisements), and its usefulness extended to the way it improved the middle-class consumer's taste for sleek new products. Profusely illustrated with 150 photographs, "Twentieth Century Limited" pays tribute to the industrial designers and the way they transformed American culture; a generation after its initial publication, this book remains the best introduction to the subject. The new edition will fascinate anyone interested in art, architecture, technology, and American culture of the 1930s. Jeffrey L. Meikle is Professor of American Studies and Art History and Chair of the Department of American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Particularly illuminating... A fresh and insightful view of a period that has been given little due and even less analytical thought." --Ada Louise Huxtable, The New York Times "Jeffrey Meikle's book stands out by reason of its intelligence, rigor and comprehensiveness... [His] research is broad, well documented, and his writing is vigorous and concise, with an occasional touch of humor. Well chosen illustrations add persuasiveness to the argument." --Neil Harris, Reviews in American History "Jeffrey Meikle's excellent book is a history of American design from 1925... It will deservedly become essential for the study of its period." --Cervin Robinson, Art in America
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From the Publisher
The classic, indispensable introduction to industrial design in the last century—available again
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
streamlined,
By
This review is from: Twentieth Century Limited: Industrial Design in America 1925-1939 (Paperback)
No, a history of industrial design doesn't sound sexy, does it. But 20th Century Ltd. is a thoroughly cool (and thoughtful) exploration of the careers of the three designers who became famous in the 40's -- Loewy, Dreyfuss and Bel Geddes -- and how they changed the 'look and feel' of daily American life, from the black, clunky electromechanical armatures of the 20's to the streamlined, chopped-and-channelled sleek aluminum cowlings of the 40's. This aesthetic language was the secret basis for the giddy cosmetic futurism of Buck Rogers, the 1939 NY Worlds Fair, and Harley Earl's tailfins. There's a good deal of material here, too, about design integrity, a simple principle that can give you a new skepticism about on the products you live with. Is a car's primary function to get the passenger safely from place to place, or is it to get itself sold? If cars are designed aerodynamically, why isn't there an optimal design? Why aren't houses mass-produced like cars are? Just because you were born knowing what toilets and telephone handsets and staplers 'should' look like, doesn't make them God-given and unchangable. . . . 20th Century is a history of how and why the basic consumer-goods design decisions in this century, and after reading it, I was amazed at how many more new alternatives seem possible.
5.0 out of 5 stars
streamlined future,
By Daren Commons (Moab, Utah) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Twentieth Century Limited: Industrial Design in America 1925-1939 (Paperback)
this book is a great history of the first industrial designers in America during the thirties Meickle describes the characters their motivations and the meaningfulness of the STREAMLINED aesthetic very good and useful
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