Travel iron, 'Mikro'; black Bakelite and stainless steel; Olesen and Nøregaard, Denmark, about 1950

'Mikro' travel iron and carry case.

Given by Peter Thornton

This object was given to the Textiles and Fashion collection in 1999 by Peter Thornton (1925- 2007), who was Keeper of Furniture and Woodwork, 1966-1984. It was put into the T&F ‘Unregistered’ collection, a now-defunct group of items used by the curatorial and conservation department for teaching, handling sessions and as gallery display props. In autumn 2015, T&F offered the iron to FWK for acquisition [2016/60].

Thornton’s mother was Danish, and he regularly visited Denmark throughout his life. The iron was purchased from the kitchenware section of Illum, a famous Copenhagen department store which sold modern design objects. It was bought on the 16th of December 1953 (date of sale recorded on the guarantee). It is not known whether Thornton or any member of his family was the original owner.

The streamlined style first appeared in the 1920s and 1930s, capturing the new interest in cutting-edge technology and the possibilities it could offer for the improvement of life after the First World War. The streamlined style was American in origin, and was a prominent feature of American Art Deco design. Objects appeared to be aerodynamic, their forms and decoration inspired by contemporary aeroplanes, locomotives and automobiles, or as though they had been formed by a flow of air around them. The style, and Art Deco design in general, remained popular until the early 1950s.

This iron is a very good example of the streamlined style. It was clearly influenced by the British-made ‘Smoothie’ travel iron, manufactured from 1948 by Lucas Holder Co. of Coventry. There are few objects in the V&A’s collections that demonstrate the streamlined style as succinctly as this travel iron. The use of streamlining for this type of object was not uncommon, designers wished to evoke the emerging post-war aspiration for greater convenience, leading to more leisure time (for example, ‘wipe-clean’ laminated surfaces in kitchens). By designing an object to look fast, it could also be marketed as something that would quickly glide across crumpled clothing, saving time (a compelling idea whilst travelling). The fact it was to be used whilst travelling is also connected to this notion, as the product was small and light enough to be packed away in its pouch and taken anywhere. The smooth top is pleasing to the touch, the iron fits very nicely into the hand.

The design of this iron is clearly based on that of the 'Smoothie' travel iron, patented in 1948 by Lucas Holder & Co. of Coventry.

This travel iron was made in Denmark in the early 1950s, although its appearance references the earlier 1930s 'streamlined' Art Deco style. With streamlining, objects appeared to be aerodynamic, their forms and decoration inspired by contemporary aeroplanes, locomotives and automobiles, or as though they had been formed by a flow of air around them. The use of streamlining for this type of object was not uncommon, designers wished to evoke the emerging post-war aspiration for greater convenience, leading to more leisure time (for example, ‘wipe-clean’ laminated surfaces in kitchens). By designing an object to look fast, it could also be marketed as something that would quickly glide across crumpled clothing, saving time (a compelling idea whilst travelling). The fact it was to be used whilst travelling is also connected to this notion, as the product was small and light enough to be packed away in its pouch and taken anywhere.<#caret>

W.10:1, 2-2016