David Krut Publishing,
Africa’s No 1 Arts Bookstore and Publisher

`An enormously useful book that embeds the looks of ordinary things in economic, technological, social and cultural change.' Katherine C. Grler, University of South Carolina

'Meikle's authoritative text positions design as a central component in American culture.' Victor Margolin, University of Illinois at Chicago
`Illuminating . . . A deeply researched meditation on the shapes and meanings of material culture.'
David F. Nye, University of Warwick
`A fascinating study of the complex relationship between the American nation and its modern material culture.' Penny Sparke, Kingston University

From the Cadillac to the Apple Mac, the skyscraper to the Tiffany lampshade, the world in which we live has been profoundly influenced by the work of American designers. But what has been the social and cultural role of design in American society? To produce useful things that consumers need? Or to persuade them to buy things that they don't need? Where does the designer stand in all this? And how has the role of design in America changed over time, since the early days of the young Republic?
Jeffrey L. Meikle explores these fundamental questions in this authoritative new social and cultural history of American design, covering everything from the hand-crafted furniture and objects of the early nineteenth century, through the era of industrialization and mass production of the machine age, to the information-based society of the present.
• 141 illustrations with 78 in full colour

Author: Jeffrey L. Meikle, English, Softcover; 141 illustrations 78 in colour ; 252 Pages; 24x17cm, ISBN: 0 19 284219 6,
Price: (ZA)R N/A

Keywords: Bookstore, Design, International