With astonishing imagery and special effects, the 1927 movie Metropolis showed us an Art Deco World where machines reach through urban society like veins. The movies workers, who operate the gargantuan machines that keep the city alive, struggle against the elite caste of city leaders.
Metropolis portrayed stunning images of Art Deco style blended with mechanical and industrial design. Indeed this movie was a forerunner to a stylistic offshoot of Art Deco known as Streamline Moderne. The style would not reach it's peak until ten years after the films release. Streamlining was partially a byproduct of mass production and mechanization. The style's horizontal lines and rounded shapes facilitated easy mass production. Streamlining continued into the fifties in the United States and influenced everything from radios to restaurants.
Today I am deviating from robots, vehicles, and action figures and presenting one of my prized industrial artifacts. This industrial counter, known as a Productimeter, was salvaged from an abandoned gear factory in the Midwest. It was mounted atop a gigantic lathe that was the size of a small bus. The Productimeter is a hefty device. As you advance it's count, by pulling the bullet shaped lever, it's internal ratchet mechanism returns a satisfying clunk. It is a fine example of Streamline Moderne style and it wears an authentic patina of hard use in an industrial setting.
To get a closer look, head on over to the Artifacts gallery of the Cabinet of Curious Frivolities and check out the Productimeter.
Full steam ahead...
A fine specimen indeed!
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