In 1934 Alcoa introduced a revolutionary new line of aluminum alloy giftware and domestic items designed by American pioneer industrial designer Lurelle Guild. Called Kensington Ware, these relatively expensive, slick, machine-age objects were in an unmistakenly Art Deco style with cast brass accents. They represent an important American contribution to modern design and decorative arts. The Kensington plant ceased production around 1970, and collectors have recently been scooping up these compelling objects in the antique and collectible markets. This is the first book to tell the Kensington...

The great postwar modern furniture designs are classics, because they are still great. Herman Miller, the company that led the office revolution, is a name synonymous with the best modern residential as well as contract furniture. Classics by super-designers - Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, and Isamu Noguchi - can still be purchased from the Herman Miller for the Home collection. Their designs, plus the work of more than a dozen other important Herman Miller designers, are described here in detail and shown in color and black and white photographs, plus original drawings by Nelson and...

Herman Miller has led in the modernization of the American home and workplace since Gilbert Rohde revolutionized the company with his Art Deco furniture in the 1930s. Interior installations (from the early days through the famous mid-century designs of George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames and the textile designs of Alexander Girard, and up to the later accomplishments of a new generation of designers) are shown in more than 200 color and black and white vintage photos entirely from the Herman Miller Archives. With an extensive timeline of events and furniture design introductions, this...

From one-of-a-kind hand made fashion to commercially made highly decorative apparel, wearable art has become an important category for both collectors of vintage costume and of unique contemporary fashion. This book, with more than 500 color photographs, is the first to cover both vintage and new wearable art. Chapters on different categories of apparel present this compelling topic at its best. Not necessarily museum art, but real wearable creations, from the antique to the present, the creations presented in this book complimented by an extensive illustrated glossary, bibliography, and a...

Archimede Seguso (1909-1999), one of the great Muranese masters, took traditional glassmaking techniques to extremes. His introduction of merletto lacework technique at the Venice Biennale of 1952 turned heads. His secret for embedding fine lacy threads of glass was never shared. Rather than apply the filigree to the surface of vessels as was traditionally done, Seguso floated these delicate wisps of color inside the glass. Archimede Seguso was also a sculptor. His preference for solid glass and love of nature resulted in a glass menagerie of feathered, scaled, and furry creatures. In the...

The widespread appeal of Mexican silver jewelry can be attributed to the artistic quality and variety, plus the large production volume of these small treasures. It is both wearable art and the perfect collectible. This book includes examples from three categories of Mexican silver jewelry: 1) top designer pieces -- hallmarked and representing the best technical virtuosity and artistic achievement; 2) popular silver jewelry -- often of considerable artistic merit, often hallmarked, yet by unknown or lesser-known makers; 3) tourist trinkets -- anonymously made and produced in relatively large...