Welcome back to Monochromes, a Friday mini-series wherein Curbed delves deep into the Library of Congress's photographic annals, resurfacing with an armful of old black-and-white photos of architecture and interior design of yesteryear. Have a find you want to share? Hit up the tipline; we'd love to hear from you.
By the time F. Schumacher & Co. spruced up this apartment on NYC's West 60th Street, the decorative fabrics giant—still a favorite amongst decorators like Alessandra Branca, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, and Waldo Fernandez—had been in business for 68 years, though, admittedly, had undergone a bit of a renaissance in the post-war years. See, in the 1940s, when concepts like the American housewife and the suburbs started to emerge, Schumacher became particularly popular, thanks in large part to a marketing team that aggressively campaigned for representation in department stores and, more to the point, an ability to provide carpet, wallpaper, and textiles in one place. By the time 1950 came around, First Lady Bess Truman had redone the White House solarium in Schumacher fabrics, and demand skyrocketed. These photos hail from a marketing event in September of 1957, and thus show off much in the way of aggressive wallpapering and other such fun 1950s styling. Do have a look.
· All 1950s posts [Curbed National]
· All Monochromes posts [Curbed National]
· All Dwelling posts [Curbed National]
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