Arizona desert postcards of the 1930s & 1940s

The painted desert, Arizona [P.D. 29]
18/06/10 – Small selection of desert-themed postcards from the 1930s and 1940s. All feature the Arizona desert, have a ‘linen-finish’ and are marked: ‘C.T. Art Colortone’. Postcard pictured above entitled: The Painted Desert, Arizona [P.D. 29] (more…)

C.P. Hornung: Handbook of designs and devices (1946)

Handbook of designs and devices (1946)

22/03/10 – A small selection from the 1,836 examples outlined in C.P. Hornung’s Handbook of designs and devices (1946): (more…)

Tatra T600 Tatraplan 1946-7 streamlined automobile

Tatra T600 Tatraplan

23/09/09 – Old toy model of the Tatra T600 Tatraplan automobile designed in 1946-7 in Czechoslovakia by Josef Chalupa, Vladimír Popelář and Hans Ledwinka. The Tatraplan had a monocoque streamlined six-seater saloon body with a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.32. It was powered by an air-cooled flat-4 cylinder 1,952 cc rear-mounted engine. Only 6,342 were produced. Toy dimensions: 10″x 3.75″ x 3.5″. (more…)

Ladislav Sutnar: Design and paper, number 13 (1943)

17/07/09 – Selections from Design and Paper (13): Controlled Visual Flow by Ladislav Sutnar, New York (1943). (more…)

Ladislav Sutnar: Design and paper, number 19 (1945)

16/07/09 – Selections from Design and Paper (19): Shape, line and color by Ladislav Sutnar, New York (1945). (more…)

Industrial British Columbia 1946

24/02/09 – Industrial British Columbia 1946: Canada’s magnificent new industrial empire, geared to efficient high quality production, backed by an adequate pool of skilled labor promotional catalogue. Designed and lithographed by The Sun Publishing Company Limited, Vancouver, B. C. Copyright May 15, 1947. Spiral bound 14″ x 10″ with 46 pages.  (more…)

Czech and Japanese matchbox labels

matchbox label book covers
29/01/09 – PIE books, Japan: Cesky Filumenisticky Design (2005) and Japanese Matchbox Label Collection 1920s-40s (2004). Text in Japanese. Maraid’s matchbox labels on flickr//

Calendar illustrations by Czech artist Josef Lada

Josef Lada Calendar: January

08/02/08 – Josef Lada’s calendar illustrations from the 1940s featuring traditional Czech occupations, pastimes and holiday scenes. (Unfortunately, February is missing.) (more…)

Oliver Tomas

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  • Oliver Tomas is a designer and academic currently living and working in Vancouver.