19 July 2011

Industrial Design Stamps

The United State Postal Service has recently released this series of stamps to celebrate the Pioneers of American Industrial Design. The stamps feature 12 designers and a work from each. The mid-century designers that where selected include:

Peter Müller-Munk
Frederick Hurten Rhead
Raymond Loewy
Donald Deskey
Walter Dorwin Teague
Henry Dreyfuss
Norman Bel Geddes
Dave Chapman
Greta von Nessen
Eliot Noyes
Russel Wright
Gilbert Rohde

From the USPS site:
The Pioneers of American Industrial Design (Forever®) stamp pane honors 12 of the nation's most important and influential industrial designers. Encompassing everything from furniture and electric kitchen appliances to corporate office buildings and passenger trains, the work of these designers helped shape the look of everyday life in the 20th century.

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. The selvage features a photograph of the "Airflow" fan designed by Robert Heller around 1937.

Art director Derry Noyes selected the objects that appear on the stamps.

The Pioneers of American Industrial Design stamps are being issued as Forever stamps. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.
To get your own copy of this exciting tribute go to your local post office or online.

I love the stamps and but only wish that the USPS would have included Eva Zeisel in the group. It would have been a fitting tribute to her and her beautiful work. Let hope the stamps are so successful that the USPS does another series in the very near future.

11 July 2011

A Trip Down Market Street


60 Minutes had an interesting broadcast related to this film of "A Trip Down Market Street" in San Francisco shot days before the Great Earthquake of 1906. This original film gives us a glimpse into life at the turn of last century when cars where new and horses still pulled carts. I hope you enjoy.

05 July 2011

Mesa Verde National Park







I experienced a recent visit to southern Colorado that included breathtaking vistas and historical architecture at Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde National Park, Spanish for green table, is rich in history and showcases the lives of Ancestral Pueblo people who lived in the area from 600 A.D. to 1300 A.D. The Ancestral Pueblo people build homes in the cliffs below the mesas. The structures are fabricated of stone and show the architectural prowess of these native Americans. The park has over 600 archeological sites that are cliff dwellings along with mesa top pueblos and towers. Keys sites to visit include the Cliff Palace, the Long House, and the Spruce Tree house. A hike down the trails leads you to buildings that will amaze not only due to there age but also the organization structures that make up these homes. I found this park to be a fascinating visit full of surprises and amazement. If you are in the area, take some time and enjoy this jewel of the National Park system.