"Petipoint" Iron, Model No. W410 Designer: form Clifford Brooks Stevens (American, 1911–1995)
Designer: (mechanical) Edward P. Schreyer (American, born Hungary, 1886–1980)
Manufacturer: Waverly Tool Company (American)

Patented 1941

American Decorative Arts

On view, 3rd floor, Modern and Contemporary Art and Design

Industrial designers applied streamlined aesthetics to a myriad of household appliances, particularly irons, where evocations of efficiency and speed appeared to ease a hot and often tedious domestic chore. The Petipoint iron, styled by Clifford Brooks Stevens and Edward Schreyer, is a particularly exuberant example of streamlining: the lozenge-shaped iron has rounded vents on the sides that resemble wings and the ergonomic, molded plastic handle is inscribed with horizontal speed lines that echo the vents. Based in Milwaukee, Stevens produced numerous designs for local manufacturers and helped found the Society of Industrial Designers in 1944.

Medium

Chromium-plated steel, steel, Bakelite and fiber-wrapped cord

Dimensions

4 3/4 × 5 × 10 in. (12.065 × 12.7 × 25.4 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Matthew Newman

Accession Number

2010.51.1

Geography

Manufactured in Sandusky, Ohio, Designed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Culture

American

Period

20th century

Classification

Tools and Equipment

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Jane and Matthew Newman, Saint Louis, by 1987-2010
Bibliography
  • John Stuart Gordon et al., A Modern World: American Design from the Yale University Art Gallery, 1920–1950 (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2011), 329, no. 228
  • "Acquisitions," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin: Online Supplement (accessed 2012), 22
Object copyright
Copyright Artist/Estate/Foundation
In Copyright
Additional information

Marks

"petipoint / LICENSED UNDER PAT'S. RE-21585 / D-128267 D-128268 D-128269 / OTHER PAT'S. PENDING / RAYON - SILK - WOOL - COTTON - LIN. OFF [in circle surrounding switch] / WATTS / 1000 / VOLTS 120 / MODEL NO. W410 / 120757 [typed in white rectangle] / SERIAL NO. / A.C. ONLY / M.F.G. BY / WAVERLY PRODUCTS INC. [curved] / SANDUSKY OHIO [curved]" printed on metal plate screwed to top of iron body; "FAST | MED | SLOW" cast into top of turn switch

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