Living Large
Gibson greeting card, 1970s
I often worry that I live a small life. When I read about a great, great uncle who was a United States Majority leader and Speaker of the House, or distant grandfather who was a US President, or even the odd balls who went mad in Paris in the Gilded Age, I think, “Should I be doing more?” This goes to the heart of the neurosis currently affecting designers. “How can I worry about kerning when there is climate change?” My answer is, “The people equipped to deal with complex climatological issues are far better dealing with this than you. But they probably have atrocious word spacing.” Every grain of rice tips the scale a little more.
This morning, I managed to assuage my insecurity about the smallness of my contribution. Then, I was faced head-on with that issue in force. I needed a varnish sample to show a client. We have a bin of “Favorite Things” that is a storage space for anything someone likes. As I dug through the bin, I continued to find wonderful items. “Oh, look at this. It’s a potato gun package,” I said as the designers politely nodded and tried to ignore me. This begs the question, is my little collection of odd items as important as serving as the United States Ambassador to France at the beginning of World War II? I say yes.
Ginza Dai-Ichi Hotel luggage tag, 1968
Potato Gun packaging
Wonder Body Exerciser manual, 1974
Gibson greeting card, 1970s
New York World's Fair Guide, 1964
New York World's Fair card, 1964
Tags: Amelie Rives Troubetzkoy, John Adams, Nicholas Longworth, William Christian Bullitt
