Imagining Consumers
Design and Innovation from Wedgwood to Corning
Seiten
2000
Johns Hopkins University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8018-6193-2 (ISBN)
Johns Hopkins University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8018-6193-2 (ISBN)
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Tells the story of American consumer society from the perspective of mass-market manufacturers and retailers. Case studies illuminate the actions of decision-makers in key firms, including the Homer Laughlin China Company, the Kohler Company and Corning Glass works.
This volume tells the story of American consumer society from the perspective of mass-market manufacturers and retailers. It relates the trials and tribulations of china and glassware producers in their contest for the hearts of working- and middle-class women, who made up more than 80 per cent of those buying mass-manufactured goods by the 1920s. Following a model pioneered by Josiah Wedgwood during Britain's 18th-century industrial revolution, successful American manufacturers closely collaborated with retailers to sort out consumer priorities and tailored their products accordingly. These firms cast aside elitist notions of good taste to generate the stylistic variety that suited the nation's diverse working population, which frequented chain stores such as F.W. Woolworth & Company. In contrast, companies which tried to stimulate desire, reshape taste and encourage profligate spending using mass advertising, extravagant styling and instalment selling found their efforts thwarted by consumers, who refused to buy products that they did not really want.
Based on research in corporate archives, this work seeks to shed new light on the history of American business, culture and consumerism. Case studies illuminate the actions of decision-makers in key firms, including the Homer Laughlin China Company, the Kohler Company and Corning Glass Works, and consider the design and development of ubiquitous lines such as Fiesta tableware and Pyrex Ovenware.
This volume tells the story of American consumer society from the perspective of mass-market manufacturers and retailers. It relates the trials and tribulations of china and glassware producers in their contest for the hearts of working- and middle-class women, who made up more than 80 per cent of those buying mass-manufactured goods by the 1920s. Following a model pioneered by Josiah Wedgwood during Britain's 18th-century industrial revolution, successful American manufacturers closely collaborated with retailers to sort out consumer priorities and tailored their products accordingly. These firms cast aside elitist notions of good taste to generate the stylistic variety that suited the nation's diverse working population, which frequented chain stores such as F.W. Woolworth & Company. In contrast, companies which tried to stimulate desire, reshape taste and encourage profligate spending using mass advertising, extravagant styling and instalment selling found their efforts thwarted by consumers, who refused to buy products that they did not really want.
Based on research in corporate archives, this work seeks to shed new light on the history of American business, culture and consumerism. Case studies illuminate the actions of decision-makers in key firms, including the Homer Laughlin China Company, the Kohler Company and Corning Glass Works, and consider the design and development of ubiquitous lines such as Fiesta tableware and Pyrex Ovenware.
Regina Lee Blaszczyk, Ph.D., is Director of the Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Phildelphia.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1. Cinderella Stories
Chapter 2. China Mania
Chapter 3. Beauty for a Dime
Chapter 4. Fiesta!
Chapter 5. Better Products for Better Homes
Chapter 6. Pyrex Pioneers
Chapter 7. Easier Living?
Conclusion
List of Abbreviations
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 21.3.2000 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Studies in Industry and Society |
| Zusatzinfo | 59 Halftones, black and white |
| Verlagsort | Baltimore, MD |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Gewicht | 850 g |
| Themenwelt | Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Kulturgeschichte |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie | |
| Technik | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-8018-6193-4 / 0801861934 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-8018-6193-2 / 9780801861932 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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