This is a serial exhibit in which we show, on a theme-by-theme basis, our nearly 2,000 examples of Art Deco collection. In volume 20, we will introduce a number of home appliances that have rapidly spread to the general household in the latter half of the 1920s to the 1940s, and the “modern life” imagined by the people at the time.

America in the 1920s gained a glamorous economic boom after the First World War, and various infrastructures were developed using the industrial production power as a springboard.
In the 1920s, supply of DC electricity to ordinary households began, and electricity became indispensable for living with electric appliances. The development of media such as the spread of telephones and radios is not only a simple information medium but also the gap between urban and rural areas in wide national land has been narrowed and it has greatly promoted the development of new industries such as advertising. Also, the emergence of various household electrical appliances that reduce the burden of domestic work such as vacuum cleaners and refrigerators was to make the public aware of the development of industrial technology and its power in an easily understandable form. Even after the global depression that began with the stock market crash in 1929, the United States took the first step towards reconstruction based on these industries and technologies, and achieved further economic development. Many household appliances kept prototypes of the 1930s, after World War II, spread to countries around the world.
From the consumer electronics products and advertisements of the time backed by industrial technology, you can feel the longing and expectation for the new lifestyle that people imagined.
Enjoy the aesthetic sense of air with the design style of the time, including “streamlined design” which incorporates Earl Deco from Europe and sublimated to America’s own style.

■Exhibits

Sandwich Toaster/Year: 1937/Manufacturer: General Electric Company (Left)
Even in the toaster which is the popular item of early household electric appliances, various kinds were developed and produced by function in the 1930s.
Fan Heater/Year: 1935/Manufacturer: Arvin (Right)
In the 1930s electric heaters also became popular. For the styling, the geometric art-deco is being used.

Kitchen Table Set/Era: Latter 1930s-Early 1940s
A table set using chrome tube legs that appeared in the 1920s and the new materials of the time, synthetic leather.

Vacuum Cleaner “Model 305″/Year: 1940/Manufacturer: Hoover/Designer: Henry Dreyfuss (Left)
Vacuum cleaner with a streamlined head designed by industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss.
Hair Dryer “ESKIMO”/Era: 1930s Late/Manufacturer: Bersted Manufacturing Company (Right)
Practical model with switching function of hot air and cool wind. Round styling has a streamlined effect.

Handy Vacuum Cleaner/Year: 1940/Manufacturer: Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company
Small vacuum cleaner made with Bakelite. As for the large-sized vacuum cleaner, variations were born according to the needs.

IdcN Collection Exhibition Series Vol.20
Electric Dream: Household Electric Appliance and Modern Life
Period: November 5, 2014 – December 27, 2015
Venue: Collection Gallery, International Design Center NAGOYA
Organizer: International Design Center NAGOYA Inc.