| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Rehousing with the aid of electricity
(published title) |
| Materials and techniques | Single section with paper cover, saddle stitched with two wire staple |
| Brief description | Trade catalogue, Rehousing with the aid of electricity, British Electrical Development Association Inc., London, 1934 |
| Physical description | 27 pages illustrated with black-and-white photographs, tables, elevations and plans. Cover is illustrated with an axonometric plan. |
| Dimensions | - Length: 270mm
(closed)
(Note: Measured in Book Conservation measuring box)
- Width: 217mm
(closed)
(Note: Measured in Book Conservation measuring box)
- Depth: 4mm
(closed)
(Note: Measured in Book Conservation measuring box)
|
| Style | |
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Gallery label | - Connecting the home to the wider world
Electricity entered the home on a much larger scale in the early 20th century and revolutionised domestic life. The radio became an increasingly common feature of homes in the 1920s, with organisations such as the BBC starting to broadcast in 1922. It connected listeners to world events in a new way and offered an opportunity for design innovation. The ECKO radio, made from moulded Bakelite, was designed with two handles, making it easy to move around the house.
Booklet promoting electricity in the home
‘Rehousing with the Aid of Electricity’, 1934
Issued by the British Electrical Development Association, UK
Printed paper
Acquired from the British Electrical Development Association Inc., July 1937
Museum no. 38041800576480
Portable Bakelite radio
EKCO AC74, 1933
Designed by Serge Chermayeff
Manufactured by E.K. Cole, UK
Moulded Bakelite case and electronic components
Museum no. CIRC.12-1977
The object sits in the 'Housing and Leaving' section of the Design 1900-Now gallery opened in June 2021.
(2021)
- From ‘Printing a modern world’ Gallery 102, V&A, 2018
Rehousing with the aid of electricity
London, 1934
With the establishment of the National Grid in 1926, electricity began to be used more widely for domestic energy supply. More homes, especially those newly built, contained electric lighting and appliances. This brochure was designed to appeal to architects and town planners. The diagrammatic clarity of the cover design – white lines on blue – emphasizes cleanliness, modernity and efficiency.
Screenprint
Issued by the British Electrical Development Association
Museum no. 38041800576480(2018)
- From 'The New Line', De La Warr Pavilion, 2016-17.
Rehousing with the aid of electricity, 1934
Designer unknown
This leaflet, commissioned by the British Electrical Development Association, was aimed particularly at those who were re-housed as part of the government's slum clearance campaign. In 1933, local authorities were asked to draw up a five-year clearance plan for the complete eradication of slums by 1938. Gas and electric companies competed throughout the 1930s for their share of the domestic energy market, identifying the working class household as a key target consumer.
On loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum
(2016)
|
| Credit line | Acquired from the British Electrical Develpoment Association Inc., July 1937. |
| Object history | The Jobbing Printing Collection, a collection of ephemera held in the National Art Library (NAL) at the V&A, was developed between 1936 and 1939, when Philip James (then Deputy Keeper at the NAL) requested samples of work from high-profile companies and designers across Britain, Europe and North America. Possibly responding to an article by Beatrice Warde describing an imaginary box of ‘jobs’ that would “display noteworthy new developments in printing”, James’ intention was to create an “open reference collection of commercial typography" and "to exhibit contemporary specimens from time to time so that the trend of typographic design, both in this country and abroad, could be appraised by students of industrial art". It comprises over 6,000 items ranging from handbills to typeface specimen sheets, lettering artwork to colour proofs and brochures. Donors included the companies commissioning and issuing work: significantly the Bauhaus; BBC; GPO and Shell-Mex, but also - among others - Bamberger & Hertz; Embru; Fortnum & Mason and United States Gypsum; as well as advertising agencies like Crawfords and Draeger. Work was also received from printers such as Gebruder Fretz and Hague & Gill, and typefoundries like Bauersche Giesserei and Deberny Peignot. The list of individual designers who responded to James’ request included Havinden; Moholy-Nagy; Sutnar and Tschischold. Categories of material include architecture, broadcasting, costume, interior design, motor industry, food and drink. The bulk of the collection consists of examples from the 1930s, especially 1936 - 1939, with a few items from the 1940s.
The collection is supplemented with material from the 1960s which the Library inherited from the Circulation Department of the Museum after its closure in 1978. The two groups of material stand as historic collections in their own right: the Jobbing Printing Collection is designated a 'closed collection'. |
| Bibliographic references | - Exhibited in 'The new line: works from the Jobbing Printing Collection’ held at the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, 10 December 2016 to 12 March 2017
This exhibition of commercial print from the 1930s includes material designed by Serge Chermayeff, Edward McKnight Kauffer, Paul Nash, Eric Ravilious, Graham Sutherland and László Moholy-Nagy, alongside films by Len Lye commissioned by the General Post Office Film Unit and Churchman Cigarettes.
Europe in the 1930s underwent enormous social, political, cultural and technological change. To capture some of these changes through contemporary commercial print, Philip James at the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum developed the ‘Jobbing Printing Collection’. He requested samples of work from high-profile companies, artists and designers in Europe and North America, including items designed by members of the Bauhaus school, made for shops such as Fortnum & Mason, and for companies such as Elizabeth Arden, Shell and Imperial Airways.
The New Line presents a selection of items from the NAL’s collection, including lifestyle and trade magazines, beauty catalogues, tourism brochures and a sample chart for stockings. It highlights how the movement of people across borders, often escaping oppressive political regimes, led to the exchange of ideas and aesthetics, and the formation of new expressions of modernity. It also shows how interconnected art, design and industry were throughout the 1930s.
‘The acquisition and display of items of commercial printing positioned the Victoria and Albert Museum directly in the debate on modern design for the manufacture or ‘art and industry’ as it was often termed at the time.’
Alongside material from the V&A National Art Library’s Jobbing Printing Collection are items from private collections.
Researcher: Sandy Jones
- Exhibited in 'Printing a Modern World: commercial graphics of the 1930s' displayed in Gallery 102 at the V&A, 3 February – 19 August 2018
As the world recovered from the economic crash of 1929–30, efforts were made to stimulate consumption and revive the global economy. In the 1930s there were advances in many areas of manufacturing and technology that reached into every aspect of daily life from construction to domestic chores to entertainment. In the UK, a government report championed the involvement of artists in design and manufacturing.
The belief that new technologies and commodities would improve daily life was a reflection of the ideas of Modernism. Many designers, and the visionaries in the companies who employed them, regarded their work as an instrument of social service. They also felt that good design and eye-catching promotional material would contribute to commercial success. In this way, the developments in materials, energy, communication, and consumer goods in the 1930s were popularised for a mass market.
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| Other numbers | - JP Box 2 - NAL Pressmark
- 904603 - Horizon bib. number
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