USEFUL OBJECTS IN WARTIME
MoMA Bulletin, V. 10, No. 2, December 1942 - January 1943
Alice Carson
Alice Carson: USEFUL OBJECTS IN WARTIME. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1943. First edition [MoMA Bulletin, V. 10, No. 2, December 1942 - January 1943]. Slim quarto. Stapled printed wrappers. 24 pp. 25 black and white photographs. Wrappers lightly edgeworn and age-toned. Very faint University Library stamp to front panel. A good or better copy.
7.25 x 9.25 softcover book with 24 pages featuring 25 black and white photographs of objects displaying Good Design Characteristics and also working within the strict wartime production standards. The annual Useful Objects under $10.00 eventually became known as the Good Design exhibits held jointly at Museum of Modern Art and the Chicago Merchandise Mart.
Artisans whose work is featured in this volume include Dr. Peter Schlumbohm, Georg Jensen, Dan Cooper, Russel Wright, Natzler Ceramics, Redwing Pottery, Drexel Furniture and others.
"An honest modern design will be shaped by the exigencies of function and materials, and by the formal invention of the designer. It will be free of mannerisms." -- John McAndrew
“Baking pans made of paper, a cornhusk doormat, an open-top hamper-cart for the free-wheeling of groceries, a plastic sink stopper, a felt eyeglass case and many other useful objects for the civilian, particularly in non-priority glass, comprise part of the exhibition of Useful Objects in Wartime which opens at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 Street, Wednesday, December 2. The rest of the exhibition is devoted to needs of Army and Navy Men, WAACS and WAVES. A few well- designed articles for civilian defense are also included. Everything in the exhibition sells for $10 and under.
“In planning this fifth annual exhibition at the Museum of useful objects under $10, vital war needs were taken into consideration, and the exhibition was divided into the following three sections:
1. Household objects made of non-priority materials.
2. Articles asked for by men and women in the Army and Navy.
3. Supplies necessary for adequate civilian defense.
“Alice M. Carson, Acting Director of the Museum's Department of Industrial Design, arranged the exhibition and designed its installation. It will remain on view through January 3.
“The standards used in selecting articles for the Museum's previous exhibitions of useful objects were applied this year:
1. FUNCTION - "how it works" or "what it does."
2. MATERIALS - their appropriate use.
3. TECHNIQUE or process of manufacture (whether by hand or machine).
4. SYNTHESIS of the above in the expression of the designer.
“In addition to the objects selected with emphasis for wartime use, the exhibition includes a few useful objects of especially good design shown in previous exhibitions at the Museum. Those objects are shown to discourage the wasteful American practice of abandoning a good design simply to satisfy the craving to present. “Simultaneously with the exhibition the Museum will publish an illustrated Bulletin on Useful Objects in Wartime which will list many of the items. In addition everything shown in the exhibition will be labeled with price, name of manufacturer and retailer, and the name of the designer, when obtainable.” —Museum of Modern Art Press Release, December 1942