Tag Archives: Bakelite

Belle Kogan – 20th Century American Industrial Designer

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On a recent trip to one of our local thrift stores, Anthony purchased a silver plate serving dish with a strong streamline design. He instinct made him believe it from the 1930’s. Other than the manufacture’s mark, we knew nothing about it. One of the best parts of researching our finds is learning and educating ourselves about new (to us) designers.

 

Reed & Barton serving dish, designed by Belle Kogan.

1936 Reed & Barton silver plate serving dish, designed by Belle Kogan. From the collection of the author.

The underside of the serving dish.

The underside of the serving dish Belle Kogan designed for Reed & Barton in 1936. From the collection of the author.

 

Made by Reed & Barton and numbered 1605, the markings enabled us to easily research the piece.

Reed & Barton mark on the underside of the Kogan serving dish.

Reed & Barton mark on the underside of the Kogan designed serving dish. From the collection of the author.

 

Belle Kogan designed serving dish.

Serving dish, Reed & Barton silver plate, a Belle Kogan design. From the collection of the author.

Apropos to Women’s History Month we found the designer to be Belle Kogan. She is a pioneer for women in the field of industrial design because she broke through the barriers in a field dominated by men.

 

Belle Kogan "Godmother of Industrial Design" (photo via web)

Belle Kogan “Godmother of Industrial Design” (photo via web)

Born Bella Cohen in Ilyashevka, Russia in 1902 and emigrating with her family to the Allentown, Pa. in 1906, she showed an early interest in art. A teacher, recognizing her natural talent, suggested she enroll in Mechanical Drawing classes.

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But on her first day Belle quickly realized she was the only female in the class. A portent of thing to come.

After graduating high school, Belle taught mechanical design to earn enough money to attend Pratt Institute. However the reason for leaving Pratt is unclear. And whether dropping out of her own choosing or pulled out by her father to raise her younger siblings and managing the family jewelry business is up for debate.

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Moreover working almost a decade for her father, frustrated by life and in response to her father’s wishes she get married, Belle said:

“Well, I’m going to have a career, goodbye… I am never going to get married and I am never going to have children. I had a family all my life I helped raise. I helped you in business. I want a life of my own.*”

(*Pat Kirkman’s book, Woman Designers in the USA 1900-2000: Diversity and Difference; and Modernism in American Silver by Jewel Stern)

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Then in 1929 at the beginning of what became the great depression, her luck changed. The Quaker Silver Company took a chance on the new designer, offering her the opportunity to design pewter and silver items. And pleased with her work, they paid her tuition to study design in Rhode Island, France, Germany, and Czechoslovakia that same year. She credits this opportunity with her understanding that design was work, it didn’t just happen.

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As a result of her hard work and being a trusted employee, Quaker Silver offered her the opportunity to set up her own studio as a freelance designer.

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And so in 1931, Belle opened the Belle Kogan and Associates in New York City becoming one, if not the first, woman to open her own design firm. But she struggled at first. Securing an appointment with a prospective client (a large appliance manufacturer), they refused to meet with her. Because, they thought they would be meeting with Mr. Belle Kogan. Unfazed, she collected her consulting fees and left.

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Unfortunately, this would be repeated several times in her early career. Often, dismissed by men solely based on her gender. Or worse, prospective male clients wanting a more personal relationship over the professional one she hoped to cultivate.

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Her innovative and elegant designs eventually attracted high-end clients. For Reed & Barton, she designed silver plate serving pieces with a modern, linear design,  including the serving dish Anthony found.

 

Belle Kogan's covered double vegetable dish for Reed & Barton, 1936.

Belle Kogan’s double vegetable dish, manufactured by Reed & Barton in 1936. Image from www.core77.com

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And for Telechron the whimsical duck-shaped alarm clock.

 

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In addition, for Zippo, sleek modern lighters.

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Subsequently she designed jewelry for Tiffany and Co. And then created the successful Belle Kogan 100-line (1938-1940) for Red Wing Pottery.

 

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Likewise for Red Wing Potteries, her Prizmatique line (1962).

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Moreover, she worked in every medium: wood, glass, ceramic, plastics, and metals. Above all, by 1939, she supported fellow female designers by hiring three women to assist in her design firm.

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Eventually Belle closed her New York studio in 1970 and moved to Israel to work with KV Designs. Subsequently leaving them is 1972, she became a highly sought design consultant.

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And true to her word, she never married and had no children. Finally recognized for her contributions to 20th century design, the “Godmother of Industrial Design” passed away in 2000 living life on her terms.

 

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys)

Freakin’ Tiquen Memorial Day Weekend 2015 – The Haul!

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Here are some videos of the Deco items that we found while out “Freakin’ Tiquen” on May 23rd & 24th.

 

Starting on Saturday morning, the first group of items were purchased at The Golden Nugget Flea Market in Lambertville, New Jersey. The American Stationery Company of Peru, Indiana, founded in 1919, is still in business today. In the 1930’s they offered this bakelite box when buying engraved letter head. It really is nicely made.

 

 

 

We also picked up a few 1930’s magazines. I like Esquire Magazine, the articles are good, the cartoons are usually very funny and the advertisements are great. I only have a few Esquires, but I hope to get more. We also found a couple of Vogue magazines. For some reason, vintage Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines are nearly impossible to find. The two that we picked up are in pretty bad shape, but the price was low and they are also really well produced.

 

 

About 40 minutes northeast of The Golden Nugget is the town of Somerville, NJ where we bought a couple of New York World’s Fair items. I am very happy about getting the American Potter’s Exhibit’s bowl for spring. Now I’m on the hunt for the other three seasons.

 

 

 

Getting an early start on Sunday, the 24th, we headed off to Adamstown, Pennsylvania. Adamstown is about an hour and half from where Chris lives in New Jersey. Chris and I try to get to Adamstown a few times a year. For those of you who have never been there, all I can say is go – it is a town of Antique Malls. We arrived at 10:00 A.M. and were finally done shopping just after 7:00 P.M. Our first stop in Adamstown was The Pinehill Anitque Mall, we picked up several things, but my favorite was the Manning-Bowman Twin-O-Matic waffle iron. I had seen this waffle iron in several books about design in the 1930’s, but this was the first time I had ever come across one and it was very reasonably priced (I’ve seen one on-line selling for over $300.00).

 

 

 

At our next stop, we had the best buy of the weekend – a vintage 10 inch cobalt blue Fiestaware vase. The vintage vases were produced between 1936 and 1942. They are also part of the Fiestaware line currently made and the sellers of this vase thought it was a sapphire blue one. Sapphire was a limited edition color sold exclusively by Bloomingdales for six months in 1997, which makes it rare, but not as rare the vases from the original line. This was a case of “seller beware”.

 

 

 

Old Fiestaware price guide brochures are very collectible and useful. Published anytime a change to the line was made, such as a piece being discontinued or new colors introduced.  They offer historic information to a collector. The older ones are quite rare, so I was happy to come across one from 1937 and almost as happy to find the brochure from late 1985 or early 1986 announcing new line of Fiestaware, with pictures of trial pieces that never went into production.

 

 

 

 

Also from the same place, The Lancaster County Antique Mall of Adamstown, which is the store that stays open the latest, 9:00 on Saturdays and 7:30 on Sundays, is where our friend Nancy picked up these Art Deco penguin bookends. They seem to be from the 1930’s; if any one has information about them please let us know.

 

 

 

But by far the most Art Deco piece bought this weekend, was the Degue glass wall sconce that our friend Amanda bought at Antiques at the Carriage Barn in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania on the 25th. We stopped there on our way down to New Jersey on the Friday of the holiday weekend. Amanda fell in love with the sconce (and if you like Deco, who can blame her) but decided to hold off getting it, just in case something better came along. Well, nothing better did come along and on our way home, we made a stop back at the Carriage Barn and Amanda became the proud owner of a very beautiful piece of French art glass.

 

 

 

Chris and I use these “Freakin’, Tiquen’ Weekend” trips as training for our big summer “Freakin’, Tiquen'” vacation. And we will need to be in good shape when we hit the Brimfield Flea Market this coming July.

 

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’, Tiquen’ Guys)