Ceramic art by Maynard Tischler on display in the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art (Denver, Colorado).
Category: Material Culture
The Wonder That Is Indiglo
The wonder of Timex’s Indiglo Backlight: The Indiglo Button Let There Be Light.
Christmas Party at Herman Miller
Save the date and get in the Christmas spirit with these vintage designs created by the Herman Miller Company for their 1978 Employee Christmas Party.
Featured image: Jingle Christmas Party Poster, Linda Powell, Herman Miller, Inc. Source: Western Michigan Graphic Design Archives
Libbey Golden Foliage
Remember the Silver Foliage glassware by Libbey? Well here’s the more popular Golden Foliage in a less common shape: the sugar and creamer set with a metal caddy, and the 16 oz. hostess pitcher with a removable handle. Found, unexpectedly, at a freecycle event.
And now, a Canadian Analysis of the Holidome
Talking about Holiday Inn Holidomes: The Holidome was a one-stop vacation destination. Why couldn’t it keep up with the times?
Only two photos, of unidentified Holidomes, but includes this analysis:
At many Holidomes, the humidity from the indoor pools would damage the domed ceiling and make the inner-courtyard-facing rooms damp and stuffy… “While the maintenance of these domed structures is really costly, they’re very easy to demolish, and you still can keep the hotel”
David Israelson/Drew Sinclair
More on the Holidome:
1965 Pontiac Safari Station Wagon
“Take the wife along with you to choose the color.”
20% Off: An Oral History of the BB&B Coupon
You’ve seen the big Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupon many times. Now hear from the people who made it the (much bigger than I ever suspected) cultural icon it is:
The New York Times has the true story of how The World’s Biggest Coupon came to be.
G.I. Joe Recovers the Lost Mummy!
Source: 1972 Sears Wishbook.
This 1972 set has all the essential/most fun archaeological gear: helicopter, ATV, machete, pick and shovel (the shovel is my pick), and … animal trap (what, is Roy Chapman Andrews coming along, too?). That mummy is not getting away from the Joes. With inflation, this $14.49 set would cost about $90 today – actual G.I. Joes not included.
Libbey Guides the Right Drink into the Right Glass
The perfect host knows the perfect glass for each drink, but in case you forgot, Libbey provides a visual reminder in this 1962 ad (glasses start at 15¢!). See more Libbey barware here.
Vintage Suburban Barware: Libbey Silver Foliage Glasses
Not that long ago, I picked up a set of drinking glasses and matching ice bucket from an antique store down the shore. These glasses were made by the Libbey Glass Company and it’s easy to find sets of this pattern, Silver Foliage, on eBay, Etsy, and other sites, especially if you search for “vintage Midcentury Modern glasses.” It’s no surprise, since Libbey was, and still is, one of the biggest manufacturers of drinking glasses.
Libbey’s most popular patterns were sold for decades. According to some internet sources, Silver Foliage was produced between 1957 and 1978. The Golden Foliage pattern was introduced the same year and produced through 1982 – so those vintage Midcentury Modern glasses on eBay could actually be from the Disco Era.
Golden Foliage was so popular that other manufacturers copied the design on their own glasses (our set has Libbey’s cursive “L” maker’s mark on the bottom of each glass). Meanwhile, Libbey was busy putting the two foliage patterns on different styles and types of glassware (check out the tray and carafe in the ad below). You could probably develop a detailed chronology of Silver Foliage by the yearly catalogs put out by the company; unfortunately they do not seem to be available online.