Depression moderne

Marilyn Friedman's book is a wonderful visual celebration of American home interior design. The 203 black and white photos (though a few are in color) are divided into each year of the thirties and the text provides a sort of running caption about the photo's content, the designer and creative trends for that year. It seems extraordinary that through the Depression years there were moderne room sets in department stores, exhibitions, art galleries and individuals were commissioning designers to create living space reflecting the ideals of the modern decorative arts. New materials helped too, Monel metal, acrylics and glass allowed designers to create products with simple, straightforward lines that easily blended into contemporary rooms.

What particularly impressed me about the book is the quality of the photos. Considering these were taken over a ten year period by a variety of photographers they all have a uniform lightness and sparkle (printing on excellent matt art paper with a two hundred screen helps, too). In the Prologue there some photos that also appeared in Friedman's 2003 book Selling good design where they look dull and lifeless in comparison.

I found the book (and Matthew Egan deserves a mention for the excellent design) an interesting overview of American interiors by fifty or so very creative designers who helped to define modern living in past decades.