mid century modern is born

figured it was time to add george nelson and the herman miller company to the mix. for the last 15 years or so i've been collecting ephemera related to modern design / architecture - brochures, catalogs, advertising cards, hang tags, etc. this card is one of my favorites because it is connected to a seminal moment in modern furniture history. it announces the opening of the new herman miller showroom in nyc, and the first complete showing of a furniture collection designed by george nelson. just think, tuesday march 25, 1947 (a year before the 1948 herman miller catalog!) you could have had afternoon tea surrounded by the beginnings of what folks are fond of calling "mid century modern".

irving harper was responsible for most of the nelson office's graphic work, and it would appear that this was designed by him. perhaps because his print work was mainly for one company he's not often mentioned along with alvin lustig, paul rand, lester beall, etc. but his magazine ads for miller were consistently stellar, and most people credit him with the designs on most of the great george nelson clocks. i'll be posting a lot more of this stuff in the future.