Powering the Home: Fifty Years of Advertising Home Appliances (1920-1970): 50 Years of Advertising Home Appliances (1920-1970) - Softcover

Ruth Artmonsky; Stella Harpley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 099358781X ISBN 13: 9780993587818

Publisher: Artmonsky Arts, 2017

Synopsis

• Uses adverts to explore the rapid expansion in the variety of consumer products throughout the twentieth century
• Succinct text accompanies a selection of the most innovative ads of the day
• This book is small, snappy, and as stylish as the adverts it showcases

The mid-20th century brought about an advertising renaissance in the western world. Technology boomed. Standards of living increased, innovation abounded, and 'luxury' consumer products such as TVs, fridges and gas heating became readily available to the public. In order to sell them, ads needed to be as quirky and appealing as the new commodities themselves. This compact yet comprehensive book, written by an experienced design historian, explores the hand-in-hand development of advertisement and the many household amenities that we take for granted today.

This book began its life as an offshoot of another, also written by Ruth Artmonsky, but focusing on the advertising of furniture. Her research led her to discover the expansive genre of domestic appliance advertising - not relevant to her book, but more than interesting enough to merit a new text in its own right. Adverts that caught Ruth's eye include "an advertisement for a gas iron, and a rare one of a man admitting he might be able to do the laundry when the house purchased a washing machine." Discover all this and more in Powering the Home.

About this title

About the Author

Ruth Artmonsky is a respected design historian who has written several books on the subject. This book was written in collaboration with her daughter, Stella Harpley.

Edition details

• Publisher: Artmonsky Arts
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 099358781X
• ISBN 13: 9780993587818
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96