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Margrethe Bowls

Author: 
Carroll Gantz
Designer: 
Bernadotte, Sigvard
Date: 
1950
Margrethe Bowls

This nesting set of five melamine mixing bowls in various sizes and colors were designed by Swedish designer Sigvard Bernadotte (1907-2002) and Danish architect Acton BjØrn (1910-1992). They were manufactured by Rosti of Denmark, a manufacturer of plastic products since 1944. Bernadotte & BjØrn was Scandinavia’s first industrial design firm, founded in 1950. Bernadotte was born in a Swedish royal household, and the design was named after Margrethe, born in 1940 as the daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and Queen Ingred, born Princess of Sweden. A talented and artistic person, Margrethe became Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 1972 when her father died, the first female Danish Sovereign. Bernadotte began his career in film as a background builder, and worked for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Hollywood as well as Sweden. Beginning in 1930, he designed over 150 elegant and modern silver pieces for the Georg Jensen workshop in Denmark. During a trip to America in the late 1930s, he met Raymond Loewy and Henry Dreyfuss and was inspired by industrial design. Bernadotte later became president of Icsid and was internationally known. In 1960, Copco Inc. was established in the U.S. by Sam Farber, and among the first products he had manufactured and distributed were the Margrethe bowls by Bernadotte & BjØrn. Similar versions of this classic design are still being produced.

Sources: 
100 Years of Design consists of excerpts from a book by Carroll M. Gantz, FIDSA, entitled, Design Chronicles: Significant Mass-produced Designs of the 20th Century, published August 2005 by Schiffer Publications, Ltd.
Copyright Information: 
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Amana Radarange

Author: 
Carroll Gantz
Designer: 
Raytheon Manufacturing Company
Date: 
1967
Amana Radarange

Amana Refrigeration, a subsidiary of Raytheon Manufacturing Company, in 1967 introduced this first compact microwave oven, called the Radarange. It was a 115 V countertop model, retailing for $495, and cooked hamburgers in 35 seconds. The compact size was made possible by a small, efficient electron tube, developed in 1964 by the Japanese, which replaced older, bulkier tubes called magnetrons. In 1968, tests by Walter Reed Hospital confirmed many fears that microwaves did, in fact, leak out of the ovens, but Federal standards set in 1971 resolved the problem. By 1994, ninety per cent of all US homes had such an appliance. The first microwave ovens for home consumer use were introduced by Tappan in 1955, but few purchased them due to their large size (about like an electric stove) and high cost. Microwave ovens were a spin-off of wartime RADAR, and invented accidentally by Percy LeBaron Spencer of Raytheon while working on a magnetron (radar tube) near the end of the war. As he passed the device, which generated microwaves, he noticed that a candy bar in his pocket began to melt. He experimented with eggs (they exploded) and popcorn (it popped). So, a "high frequency dielectric heating apparatus" was patented in 1945 by Raytheon, and a prototype built. The first microwave oven for commercial purposes (ships and hotels) was introduced in 1947 by Raytheon, and named the Radar Range. It stood five and a half feet tall, weighed 750 pounds, and cost $3000. RADAR (Radio Detection And Ranging) was perfected in the UK by Sir Robert Watson-Watt in 1934 and 1935, who is credited with its invention. It was secretly used by the Allies during World War II, starting in 1940, using a new magnetron (electronic tube) just developed by John Randall and Boot, Henry Albert Howard (1917-1983) British physicist of the UK. Later, an improved magnetron was developed by Percy Spencer of Raytheon in the US, enabling the doubling of production.

Sources: 
100 Years of Design consists of excerpts from a book by Carroll M. Gantz, FIDSA, entitled, Design Chronicles: Significant Mass-produced Designs of the 20th Century, published August 2005 by Schiffer Publications, Ltd.
Copyright Information: 
I own or have obtained the rights to the image(s) included with this article and grant industrialdesignhistory.com the right to post it(them) on its website and make use of it(them) in print media with proper attribution.

Model K KitchenAid

Author: 
Carroll Gantz
Designer: 
Arens, Egmont
Date: 
1937
Model K KitchenAid

The Hobart Manufacturing Company introduced a KitchenAid Model "K" stand mixer for $55, designed by Egmont Arens (1888-1966). The design remained virtually unchanged and is still a classic on the market. The company, now known as KitchenAid, is part of the Whirlpool Corporation. Arens began his career in 1916 as a sports editor in Albuquerque, NM and the following year moved to New York and operated the Washington Square Bookstore. By 1929 he was advertising director for Caulkins & Holden agency, where he started an industrial styling department and headed it until it was discontinued in 1936. He also edited Playboy (No, not that one. This one was the first magazine devoted to modern art.) He designed the Good Life main exhibit in the Consumers Building at the 1939 New York World's Fair, the Higgens ink bottle, A&P packaging including 8 o'clock coffee (Still ticking!), and the Philip Morris trademark.. In 1944, Arens was one of the 15 original founders and first Secretary of the Society of Industrial Designers (SID), a predecessor organization of IDSA. Hobart was founded in Troy, OH by engineer Herbert Johnson who introduced an 80 quart commercial baking dough mixer in 1915 on which he had worked since 1908. Hobart introduced a 65 pound domestic version in 1919, named the Model "H" the KitchenAid when a housewife tester commented, "I don't care what you call it, but I know it's the best kitchen aid I have ever had." It was sold door to door for $189 and was on the market until 1927. A number of alphabetical designs followed in sequence--G,F,M,A, and R from 1927 to 1932.

Sources: 
100 Years of Design consists of excerpts from a book by Carroll M. Gantz, FIDSA, entitled, Design Chronicles: Significant Mass-produced Designs of the 20th Century, published August 2005 by Schiffer Publications, Ltd.
Copyright Information: 
I own or have obtained the rights to the image(s) included with this article and grant industrialdesignhistory.com the right to post it(them) on its website and make use of it(them) in print media with proper attribution.