Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Metropolis, Germany

Martin Wagner
Planned remodelling of Potsdamer and Leipziger Platz, Berlin
1929

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Two Beauties

Supermarine Swan flying boat and an ocean liner (most probably RMS Mauretania)

Monday, October 29, 2012

Soviet Functionalism

Soviet Pavilion, Paris Exposition, 1925
Architect: Konstantin Melnikov

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Space Suit

Spanish Colonel Don Emilio Herrera Linares designed and built a full pressure suit (escafandra estratonautica) in 1935, which was to have been used during an open-basket balloon stratospheric flight scheduled for early 1936.
The Spanish Civil War intervened. Herrera chose the Republican side, and the rubberized silk suit was cannibalized to make rain ponchos for Republican troops. In 1939 he fled to France, where he died in exile in 1967.
Herrera's suit featured an inner airtight garment (tested in the bathtub in his flat in Seville), covered by an accordion-like, pleated and jointed metallic frame. Joints were made for the shoulders, hips, elbows, knees and the fingers. When tested at Cuatro Vientos Experimental Station, the suit's pressurized mobility was found to be "thoroughly satisfactory", according to its inventor. If this was he case, it means that he solved one of the main problems of pressure suit design decades before B F Goodrich or David Clark!

Photo: Nationaal Archief @ Flickr

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Monday, October 22, 2012

Thursday, October 18, 2012

At the Wheel

Balakhna Paper Mill, 1929
Photographer: Arkady Shaikhet

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

City of Tomorrow

Artist: Frank R. Paul

Scanned and retouched by Paul Malon @ Flickr

More Frank R. Paul @ Dieselpunks.org:

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Beer Expressionism

Kindl Brewery tower, Berlin
1926

Architects: Hans Claus and Richard Schepke

Photo by Gabriele Kantel

Friday, October 12, 2012

Streamline Kitchen Ware

Mickey wrote: "T G Green, based at Church Gresley near Burton-on-Trent, were famous manufacturers of kitchen ware - notably the blue and white striped 'Cornish Ware". The pottery closed some years ago, sadly, and the name is now continued simply as a brand. This catalogue cover for the very '30s style 'Streamline' wear dates I suspect from the latter half of the decade. "

Text and image: mickeyashworth @ Flickr

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Transpress

Advertising everywhere
A. Mikhailov for the People's Commissariat of Transport
1925

Monday, October 8, 2012

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Another Contender

Bernard H.V.42, 1931

This gorgeous floatplane didn't make it to the Schneider Trophy. A 1000hp Hispano-Suiza engine didn't give the H.V.42 a single chance against powerful Supermarine and Macchi planes.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Crocoloco

DRG E93 was a class of powerful (3355hp) heavy electric locomotives built by AEG for the German State Railways in 1933-1938.
 Inspired by electric locos of the Swiss and Austrian Federal Railways, it was also dubbed Krokodil (crocodile).
18 units were built.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Subway Tram

This colourful illustration was issued by the then municipal London County Council Tramways to publicise the re-opening of the subterranean Kinsway tram subway in 1931. It had been reconstructed to take double-deck trams. The subway ran from Theobolds Road to the Embankment, under Waterloo Bridge, and there were two tram 'stations' - at Holborn and Aldwych. It was an essential link between the vast tram network north and south of the Thames that would otherwise have been, effectively, severed due to the refusal of the inner London Councils at the time to countenance street running of tramways.
The poster shows both tram stations, the street above and the trams - 'Pullman' rather cheekily referred to the refurbishment of trams the LCC carried out - with upholstered seats - to make them less basic in comparison with the rapidly developing motor bus!
The artwork was also used as the cover for a booklet at the time.

Text, image: mickeyashworth @ Flickr

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Automotive Lottery

Not a single worker without a lottery ticket!
Avtodor billboard by the Stenberg brothers
Photograph: A. Rodchenko
1928