{"id":10349,"date":"2022-04-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=10349"},"modified":"2022-05-12T10:08:48","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T08:08:48","slug":"the-fabulous-fifties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/2022\/04\/28\/the-fabulous-fifties\/","title":{"rendered":"The fabulous fifties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The fabulous fifties<\/h2>\n\n

As The Queen celebrates her Jubilee, we take a look back at British design in the early 1950s, when she acceded the throne. By Rhiannon Batten<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n

\"\"
An artist\u2019s impression of the Festival pleasure gardens from The Illustrated London News, May 1951.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Think of Cool Britannia and the late 1990s probably comes to mind, the nation zig-a-zig-ahing its way around a Union Jack-emblazoned urry of formaldehyde-submerged sharks and down-with-the-kids politicians. In truth, though, it was more a second coming. True Cool Britannia had peaked almost half a century earlier, during a swell of national optimism sparked by the end of the Second World War and Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s accession.<\/p>\n\n

Rationing may still have been in place in Britain in the early 1950s, but light could be seen at the end of the great tunnel of austerity that had dominated people\u2019s lives for so long. The welfare state was expanding, improvements in living conditions were gradually being implemented, workers were in such high demand that migrants from commonwealth countries were starting to arrive in large numbers (albeit, shamefully, to be met with discrimination in many cases) and the middle classes were enjoying more leisure time \u2013 and the gadgets to either enable it (washing machines) or enjoy it (cars). Things were not, yet, quite as upbeat in the UK as they were in America, where both the economy and babies were booming, TVs were commonplace and rock \u2018n\u2019 roll was the soundtrack to a proliferation of shiny new suburbs. Yet, what might now be called a \u2018vibe shift \u2019 was underway.<\/p>\n\n

Into this brave new cultural landscape landed 1951\u2019s Festival of Britain. Described, aspirationally, as \u2018a tonic for the nation\u2019 by the Festival\u2019s Director-General, former newspaper editor Gerald Barry, the event aimed to showcase Britain\u2019s science, technology, arts and industrial design, and to generate some sorely needed post-war positivity. Timed to tap into the centenary of 1851\u2019s Great Exhibition, it was focused on London \u2013 speci cally the South Bank, where purpose-designed buildings, such as the Royal Festival Hall, burst like futuristic teasels from what had previously been a 28-acre bombsite.<\/p>\n\n

  • \"\"
    Construction begins for Festival of Britain. Lebrecht Music & Arts\/Alamy Stock Photo; Arcaid Images\/Alamy Stock Photo; Lordprice Collection\/Alamy Stock Photo; Neil Baylis\/Alamy Stock Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"<\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    Official guides to the pleasure gardens and the South Bank exhibition (with logo by Abram Games).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n

    Exhibitions were spread between 22 pavilions designed by bright young architects including Hugh Casson, Misha Black and Ralph Tubbs, each themed around subjects such as \u2018Homes and Gardens\u2019 (where Ercol was one of the exhibited brands) and \u2018Country\u2019 (where 5,000 prize bulls, goats and ducks were paraded). Elsewhere, both established and emerging artists were commissioned to produce works for the site, among them Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Jacob Epstein and Lynn Chadwick. Other attractions included a range of restaurants and cafes, a high-tech cinema, a concert hall, the gravity defying Skylon sculpture and, in nearby Battersea Park, a pleasure garden with funfair rides.<\/p>\n\n

    • \"\"
      Commemorative stamp; <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
    • \"\"
      postcard of The Skylon, with fountains and Westminster in the distance. mp postage stamps<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n

      Today, there remains some debate about the Festival\u2019s legacy if not its overall success; detractors don\u2019t fully believe the hype that the \u2018Festival\u2019 or \u2018Contemporary\u2019 style the event launched was as in uential as claimed (others say it simply took a little time to catch on). One thing we can be certain of, however, is the way the Festival caught the nation\u2019s imagination \u2013 and has remained there for over 70 years. Helped along by Abram Games\u2019 iconic modern branding, and its heraldic, geometric motifs, the Festival celebrated British cra smanship and innovation. At a time when designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen and Florence Knoll in America, Arne Jacobsen, Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner in Denmark, and Gio Ponti, Ico Parisi and Gaetano Sciolari in Italy were demonstrating the elegant possibilities of mid-century modernism, it sent a clear message that Britain\u2019s designers, and their \u2018New Elizabethan\u2019 clients, could be just as exciting and progressive. <\/p>\n\n

      \"\"
      Dansette became a household name in the 1950s and 1960s.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

      The Dansette Record Player<\/h4>\n\n

      Launched in 1952, these British-made record players took on iconic status over the subsequent decade, with the advent of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll and the rise of Teddy Boys and wider teen culture. They were also a sign of the dominant influence America had on British society in the 1950s (a trend driven by rising TV ownership and the popularity of cinema-going). \u2018Not only did our homes and clothes start reflecting what we were seeing on screen, but they started sounding like them too,\u2019 says Louis Platman, Assistant Curator at the Museum of the Home. \u2018In the early 1950s, American crooners like Perry Como (and, from the mid Fifties, rock \u2018n\u2019 roll stars like Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley) were what the nation was listening to and, by the middle of the decade, the Dansette had taken residence in many British living rooms.\u2019<\/p>\n\n

      Daintily styled, with spindly legs and pastel colours, the Dansette was also a reflection of its owners\u2019 lighter, sunnier outlook. \u2018All furniture was getting lighter,\u2019 says Lucy Ryder Richardson. \u2018Everything was about taking away the heaviness and making tables and chairs look as though they were floating. Furniture took up so much space before. Now people were trying to create more space. There were beautiful kitchens, designed with Formica, in bright yellows and oranges. People wanted to feel optimistic again.\u2019<\/p>\n\n

      The Antelope Chair<\/h4>\n\n

      Ernest Race<\/p>\n\n

      One of the key characteristics of the Festival of Britain was its attempt to highlight science and scientific, or futuristic, forms. This wasn\u2019t solely because of great scientific and astronomical strides taking place at the time. The dropping of atomic bombs onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Cold War threat, had dented public belief in its benefits and there was a feeling that technological advances needed some positive reframing. Hence, many of the Festival\u2019s designs for furniture, furnishings and fittings were based on magnified atoms and molecules and the crystalline structures of minerals and metals.<\/p>\n\n

      \u2018Apparent in things like John Tunnard\u2019s atomic mural and in tea sets and textiles designed under the remit of the Festival Pattern Group, one of the most high-profile examples of the theme is Ernest Race\u2019s Antelope chair, with its little rounded \u2018atomic\u2019 feet and steel rods holding the chair together playing on molecular structures,\u2019 says Helen Peavitt, Curator at the Science Museum (where the collection includes an Antelope chair). \u2018There was a trinity of things working together \u2013a more optimistic, futuristic style of design, new materials coming onto the market (used on their own or in tandem with materials such as aluminium, which there was then a glut of, thanks to the war effort) and new mass-production techniques that all kicked in in the 1950s. Ernest Race was deliberately keying into all three things when he designed the Antelope chair.\u2019<\/p>\n\n

      \"\"
      The Antelope chair is perhaps Race\u2019s most famous piece of furniture and is synonymous with the Festival of Britain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

      Calyx Fabric<\/h4>\n\n

      Lucienne Day<\/p>\n\n

      The Festival\u2019s predecessor, the Britain Can Make It exhibition of 1946, had been dubbed \u2018Britain Can\u2019t Have It\u2019 when visitors realised most items were only prototypes. \u2018Its muted reception put enormous pressure on the Festival of Britain to work and to take London, specifically, from black and white into colour,\u2019 says Elisabeth Bogdan of Sotheby\u2019s Institute of Art.<\/p>\n\n

      That the Festival did exactly that is due to many factors but Lucienne Day and her Calyx fabric are two of the most significant. Involved in the Festival on several levels, not only was Day showing textiles and wallpapers at the event but, along with her husband Robin \u2013 commissioned to design the seating for Royal Festival Hall as well as signage and two of the room settings in the Homes and Gardens pavilion \u2013 she was part of its overall messaging.<\/p>\n\n

      Her Calyx textile design \u2018serendipitously landed\u2019 into this setting, says Elisabeth. With support from Heal\u2019s, Day\u2019s work had already moved on from earlier, more conservative designs, but when the botanically based Calyx made its appearance at the Festival it was revolutionary. Introducing elemental abstraction to British textile design, \u2018not only did Calyx have a fantastic impact on public taste but it also had a long-lasting effect on post-war industrial design,\u2019 says Elisabeth. \u2018Not necessarily because everyone immediately rushed out to buy it. What 1951 was so key for was getting Britons in the groove, even if that was still going to take a while.\u2019<\/p>\n\n

      \"\"
      Lucienne Day\u2019s boldly graphic Calyx fabric drew on the English tradition of depicting plant forms.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

      The Kaymet Tray<\/h4>\n\n

      Still popular today, Kaymet\u2019s anodised aluminium trays and trolleys were first designed in the aftermath of the Second World War. The company\u2019s founder, Sydney Schreiber, was looking for products he could make with the machinery he\u2019d used to produce radar boxes during the War; Kaymet\u2019s iconic homewares were the answer he came up with. Shown at the Festival of Britain (and subsequently used on the Royal Yacht during The Queen\u2019s coronation tour in 1954), while we tend to associate the trolleys with cocktail parties and the joyful new national mood, the truth is slightly more prosaic; having a drinks trolley at home would have been a more frugal way to socialise than going out and, in any case, many weren\u2019t used for drinks at all but for wheeling in desserts or tea and cakes.<\/p>\n\n

      \u2018My granny had a 1950s Kaymet tray and I was pretty excited whenever I saw it,\u2019 says Lucy Ryder Richardson, cofounder of Modern Shows\u00ae. \u2018I thought it looked so fabulous. It was the only gold thing in her house. There was still rationing but, at last, psychologically, you were allowed to celebrate. It was all about the excitement of more is more.<\/p>\n\n

      I don\u2019t think people actually drank that much in the 1950s but the middle classes were starting to travel and they were bringing back bottles from the places they\u2019d been to as souvenirs \u2013 disgusting green menthol or coffee liqueurs that they rarely drank. It was more about showing off these souvenir bottles.\u2019<\/p>\n\n

      \"\"
      Kaymet\u2019s shiny trays and trolleys were a sign that good times were here again, says Lucy Ryder Richardson.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n

      <\/div>
      \n

      Meanwhile elsewhere…<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"
      Modernism was also embraced in the US and Europe. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Florence Knoll, USA Introduced in 1948, the Hairpin Stacking Table was a compact design, consisting of a steel base and laminate top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Arne Jacobsen, Denmark Arne designed the Ant chair in 1952 initially for use in a canteen. Because it was strong yet lightweight, it caught on as a practical, stackable piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Gio Ponti, Italy Architect and artist Gio Ponti came up with a chic design for a stool with arms for Cassina in 1953 \u2013 voil\u00e0 model 687.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Charles & Ray Eames, USA The Eameses\u2019 1950 fibreglass chair was a revelation \u2013 shaped using a single piece of material, this chair was comfortable and customisable with different bases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Jessie Tait\u2019s striking Zambesi range, which was launched in 1954 for Midwinter\u2019s aptly named Fashion ware collection.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

      Midwinter Pottery<\/h4>\n\n

      \u2018The 1950s British home didn\u2019t suddenly appear in the fully formed shape we think of today \u2013 all fitted, ice-cream-coloured kitchens, spidery-legged coffee tables and twintone Poole pottery coffee sets,\u2019 says Louis Platman. \u2018In new suburbs a more modern aesthetic was taking shape, but the reality for most people was a gradual shift from the Utility forms of the 1940s \u2013 heavy dark wood sideboards and earthy brown and green colour schemes \u2013 to the lighter, brighter pieces of the later 1950s.\u2019<\/p>\n\n

      One of the key reasons for that eventual transition was the lifting, in 1952, of Utility Scheme restrictions that had governed the production and sale of everything from clothing to furniture during the Second World War \u2013 an attempt to save labour and materials. In the case of ceramics, those potteries still operating had been limited to making simple pieces produced without decoration (including Woods\u2019 Beryl ware). After 1952, people started looking, instead, to potteries such as Midwinter, Hornsea and Poole. In 1953, Midwinter launched its Stylecraft ware, typified by fluid modern shapes and abstract, graphic designs. Along with Hugh Casson, and a young Terence Conran, one of Stylecraft\u2019s most renowned designers was Jessie Tait. \u2018The popularity of her colourful Homeweave, Primavera and Fiesta ranges \u2013 and the zebra-striped Zambesi range she produced in 1954 for the company\u2019s Fashion ware \u2013 demonstrate vividly the nation\u2019s newly optimistic, exuberant mood.\u2019<\/p>\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n

      Alamy Stock Photo; Chronicle\/Alamy Stock Photo; David Gee\/Alamy\/Alamy Stock Photo; Science Museum, London; ukartpics\/Alamy Stock Photo\/ Full Stop Photography; 1st Dibs; Alex Griffiths<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      British design in the early 1950s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":10334,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"86","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"86","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_86-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_86-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_external_id":"June-2022-86-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"June-2022-86-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000090928||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000090928||","purple_android_product":"com.im.handa.359","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.handa.359","purple_ios_product":"com.im.handa.359","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.handa.359","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"5cc04d50-a13b-4710-8743-648e4aace342","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-05-12T08:08:56Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"b1250e4f-329e-49ea-ba18-39aee7154ae0","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-05-12T08:08:56Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AsSUOTzKeSeq6GDmu5xVK4A","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[21],"tags":[36],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/c82835c5-5e5c-4db1-8474-a1c7a7883fbb.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"11","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/c82835c5-5e5c-4db1-8474-a1c7a7883fbb.jpg",1503,2048,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/c82835c5-5e5c-4db1-8474-a1c7a7883fbb-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/c82835c5-5e5c-4db1-8474-a1c7a7883fbb-220x300.jpg",220,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/c82835c5-5e5c-4db1-8474-a1c7a7883fbb-768x1046.jpg",768,1046,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/c82835c5-5e5c-4db1-8474-a1c7a7883fbb-752x1024.jpg",752,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/c82835c5-5e5c-4db1-8474-a1c7a7883fbb-1127x1536.jpg",1127,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/c82835c5-5e5c-4db1-8474-a1c7a7883fbb.jpg",1503,2048,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"British design in the early 1950s","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10349"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10349"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12534,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10349\/revisions\/12534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}