Mid Mod Madness

Welcome to 1952. A few years ago I read the terrific book Populuxe, Thomas Hine’s look at American popular culture and design spanning 1953-1963. These were the years of amazing exuberance that we remember as “the fifties.” 1946 to 1952, on the other hand, were kind of the “end of the 1940s” as the country climbed back to normality following World War II. It took time to launch new designs, so home interiors still had a kind of old-fashioned 1930s0 / 1940s streamline look for a while. Here’s a little survey — 20 images of basements, living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms from 1952 that show the changeover in progress. Mouse over the photos to see the products being advertised. Oh, and I just bought another Hine book, The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager. In 1952, as evidenced in the ad above, I think he would say they were still on the rise.
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