Mid-Mod Mad Men: a Look at Vintage Advertising

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY ADVERTISING HOLDS AN ARTISTIC APPEAL ALL ITS OWN. IN FACT, SOME OF THE GREATEST FURNITURE DESIGNERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY SPENT DECADES CREATING SEMINAL MAGAZINE ADS FOR THEIR OWN PRODUCTS. HAVE A LOOK AT A THIS WELL-CURATED COLLECTION.


195311023

WORDS: CHARLIE KEATON

Herman Miller makes furniture. In fact, the Michigan-based company has produced some of the most recognizable furniture in the world, dating back to the early 20th century. But the Herman Miller legacy extends well beyond the bounds of tables or lounge chairs. It’s also responsible for some truly groundbreaking advertising, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. 

It was perhaps the single greatest insight of Herman Miller founder D.J. De Pree to hire multifaceted designers—people with a talent for more than just furniture making. When George Nelson was named design director in 1947, it was the first in a series of shrewd personnel decisions whose effects still reverberate. Nelson would soon recommend the hiring of Charles and Ray Eames, and later, all three would voice support for the hiring of Alexander Girard. And while this murderer’s row of design legends would each contribute his or her share of enduring design to the Herman Miller brand, responsibilities didn’t end there.

Given the lens of intense specialization through which we experience the modern world, it’s hard to imagine someone like George Nelson being asked to design furniture and the advertising behind it. But that’s exactly what happened. When Nelson joined Herman Miller, he quickly established his own small office in New York, and to his eternal credit—and with the gratitude of design scholars ever since—Nelson added Irving Harper to the team almost immediately. Harper was an industrial designer with experience working on exhibits for the 1939 World’s Fair. He also had experience as a draftsman under famed designer Gilbert Rohde and, before that, experience designing department store interiors.

What Harper didn’t have was graphic design experience. Nevertheless, his employment agreement called for, among other things, the production of two ads per month. Many of those ads are now considered artistic landmarks in their own right, and some are even part of college curricula. (For good measure, Harper also designed the Herman Miller logo.) Not to be outdone, Charles and Ray Eames opened an office in California, and began creating ads of their own. That geographical distance implies a stark contrast in style, but the Nelson and Eames offices managed to produce two decades’ worth of highly complementary work, often designing ads to highlight the other’s furniture.

With the help of Corporate Archivist Amy Auscherman, Modern In Denver has curated a collection of vintage Herman Miller magazine ads. The publication dates range from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, although the through line is so well-measured, it’s not always obvious which ads belong to which years. You may find yourself surprised. And amazed.

1950 130001

1952 14

1953 13

1958 6

1959 25 196130003 19628001 11 Exclusively Ours Harper(300dpi) 1952 Pubs4125 Box 29 1952010001
1960 32 196013 Irving Harper013 GRN110910001 Irving Harper 194906002 Irving Harper 195107002 Irving Harper 195209002 Irving Harper 196002004 1948010 194801004 1949 08008 194905022 195001 195702006 1959 9 195903001 1956200001 1967-30001 1968-60001 196920005 Girard Ad 1956

Related Posts