“Luxurious beauty is superseding frivolous glitter. Kensington’s beauty is rich, substantial, aristocratic. Kensington metal is a recently discovered alloy of Aluminum which does not tarnish or stain. It keeps its silvery luster indefinitely. Kensington laughs at time.”
American Home, May, 1937
Kensington also laughed all the way to the bank. Upon its introduction in the early 1930s, this Alcoa line of brushed-aluminum housewares was an immediate hit. The reasons were simple. Kensington was attractive. It was durable. And, most importantly for Depression-era buyers, it was affordable. From console sets to barware, vases to serving trays, Kensington allowed 1930s householders to entertain stylishly, on a minimal budget. With silver services running into the hundreds of dollars, frugal homemakers instead opted to stuff their sideboards with silvery, inexpensive Kensington. Even a massive eye-catcher, such as Kensington’s 18-inch “Zodiac Tray” with its interior brass ring depiction of astrological symbols, sold for just $10. At prices like that, what pocketbook could resist?
Affordable then, Kensington is just as affordable (and collectible), today. Even 75 years after its 1936 introduction, that “Zodiac Tray” remains a steal at $125 to $150. Other Kensington pieces are just as reasonably priced, some in the $10 to $15 range. In addition to price, today’s collectors are lured to Kensington by the same reasons that initially drew consumers: beauty and durability. Over the years, however, there has been one important addition: viewed through the lens of time, Kensington pieces have become prime examples of the classic lines and elegant simplicity that define Art Deco.
Lustrous Beginnings
Think “Alcoa”. . . think “aluminum”. Even the name is an acronym for what the company is all about: the “Aluminum Company of America”. Originally founded in 1888 as the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, Alcoa was the brainchild of scientist Charles Martin Hall. His electro-chemical reduction process kicked off the practical production of aluminum, and for many years Alcoa, (the company name adopted in 1907), reigned free of competition.
Aluminum was lightweight. It resisted corrosion. And Alcoa produced plenty of it. The challenge came in persuading manufacturers to utilize this new-fangled metal in place of materials that had stood them in good stead for many years. Eventually, Alcoa came to a decision: if other companies would not put aluminum to good use, then Alcoa would.
The initial result was the “Wear-Ever” line of cooking utensils, which debuted in 1901. No more lugging heavy iron pots from stove to sink. No more scouring un-scourable iron pans. Housewives eagerly embraced easy-care Wear-Ever, and Alcoa’s sales skyrocketed, aided by a retinue of door-to-door salesmen, mostly college students eager to demonstrate Wear-Ever’s wonders.
The Wear-Ever line was primarily a utilitarian one; while pleasing to the eye, its primary focus was on serviceability, and visual appeal played a decidedly secondary role. However, by the 1930s, other metal manufacturers such as the Chase Brass & Copper Company, were turning their attention to decorative, affordable giftware. The time was right for Alcoa to add some luster of its own.
All Aglow
Alcoa’s “Kensington Ware” first came to the public eye in the summer of 1934, with showings at the Chicago and New York Gift Shows, attended by over 4,000 retail buyers. (The “Kensington” name was in tribute to New Kensington, Pennsylvania, were the firm was headquartered). A Kensington sales brochure from early 1935 touted the line's numerous advantages:
“The world is always waiting for something new and different. Gifts made from gold and silver, copper, pewter, and bronze, have been handed down from generation to generation. Now we introduce a new metal. . .Kensington.
“Kensington metal is an alloy of aluminum. It has most of the advantages of silver, pewter, and chromium, yet none of their disadvantages. It will not tarnish or stain, but retains its soft, silvery luster. This obviates the necessity of constant cleaning. A mild soap and warm water is all that is necessary.
“Kensington metal will not finger print easily. It has a hard surface, which is protection against normal wear and scuffing. And, as there is no superficial plating, there will be no peeling.
“This beautiful metal, exceptionally suitable for gift pieces, will have your customers coming back for more! To design it, we’ve chosen a man named by ‘Fortune’' magazine as one of the foremost commercial designers in the United States: Lurelle Guild.”
Design Luminary: Lurelle Guild
“Beauty alone does not sell.”
Lurelle Guild
Fortune, February, 1934
Lurelle Van Arsdale Guild was often referred to as “the gadget man,” and he didn’t mind one bit. During his 1920s and 1930s heyday, over one thousand designs left the indefatigable industrial designer’s drawing board - annually. Working on a free-lance basis, Guild’s diverse assignments included, in addition to Kensington, projects for such clients as Westinghouse, General Electric, and the Chase Brass & Copper Co. Among his nearly-innumerable credits: the Electolux vacuum; the Norge refrigerator; Ingersoll-Waterbury Company clocks; Underwood typewriters; GE washing machines; Columbia Mills lace curtains and tablecloths; over 200 books and pamphlets, including the still-in-demand décor book Designed For Living; nearly the entire line of Chase lamps; Fostoria liqueur glasses, and an American Locomotive streamliner! As Art & Industry noted in 1938, “there are few products Lurelle Guild hasn’t designed or re-designed.”
Guild, born in 1898, graduated from Syracuse University with an art degree. He began his career as an illustrator, designing interiors for popular homemaking magazines. By 1926, the overpowering urge to bring those ideas to life led him to a career in the newly-popular field of industrial design. Here, Guild’s efforts to combine eye-pleasing form with life-enhancing function came to full fruition.
Unlike many of his design contemporaries, Guild was also a canny businessman. His inventions were always patented, with the patent assigned to the manufacturer. Guild then assessed his clients a design fee, plus a royalty on all items produced from the patent. In 1934, his Chase remuneration alone amounted to $25,000. At that time, annual take-home pay for the typical American family averaged $1,500.
To head off design copycats, Guild made sure that his patents covered more than just surface appearance. Said Guild in his Art & Industry interview, “If we make a strong enough patent, so that it supports the design, competing products aren’t going to copy the surface appeal as promptly as they will with two products basically similar. Mechanical improvements are required if the design is to ‘stick’.” In other words, it wasn’t enough to simply come up with a pretty-to-look-at teapot. Guild knew that a revised spout or handle was key in warding off possible design piracy.
Lurelle Guild not only designed his products, but had very definite, (and almost always successful), ideas on displaying them to their best advantage. His Kensington showroom in Rockefeller Center offered one of the first examples of objects lit from below. Like aging actresses, the Kensington pieces were highlighted by flattering, indirect lighting, rather than harsh overhead spots. Graduated wall tints, and floor tiles which replicated the wall colorings, contributed to a sophisticated, unified display atmosphere. But always, there was one goal in mind. As Forbes magazine noted in a 1936 profile, “Guild is first, last, and always, a salesman. His point of departure, therefore, is the market. He first decides what people want to buy, and what they can pay.”
Shining Examples
“Against the silvery background of Kensington metal, Mr. Guild has cleverly contrasted exquisite mounts of old brass. This marriage of two metals is in accordance with a new trend in the finest jewelry fields. The beauty of the design and of the metals make them equally attractive.”
Kensington sales brochure, 1935.
Kensington’s combo of brushed-aluminum-and-brass would make it easy to identify, even if the company’s logo weren’t emblazoned on the base. Although period Alcoa promotions sometimes refer to the style as “Empire,” the most commonly used descriptor for Kensington is “classic modern”. Guild was heavily influenced by the “classic” Greek decorative usage of laurel leaves and symbolic imagery. He successfully married these images to the “modern” Art Deco fondness for uncluttered line. Freed from any embellishments that would tie them to a specific timeframe, Kensington pieces, as the ads promised, “go well with the primitive early American, as well as complimenting the sophisticated modern.” In a word, they’re timeless.
Kensington (and Guild) did their best to cover all giftware bases. Included in the line were table and service items (bowls, plates, trays, candleholders, compotes, and the like); decorative pieces, such as vases and picture frames; barware; smoker’s articles; and desk accessories. There were also occasional one-offs, such as a Kensington clothes brush, a Kensington “lipstick tissue holder,” and even the “Kenfold Money Minder,” essentially a metal billfold. While not readily categorized, each of these possesses the same stylistic traits as the mainstays of the Kensington line.
Last Gleaming
Good design may be timeless, but popular taste always has a sell-by date. By the 1940s, what seemed forward-thinking and “modern” just a few years prior, now appeared quaint and musty. Additionally, the onset of World War II meant that manufacturers were turning their attentions toward more immediate and necessary pursuits. The Kensington line, with its careful detailing, and painstakingly applied brass accents, was a luxury Alcoa could no longer afford.
Over the years, echoes occasionally surfaced, such as “Kensington Moiré,” over-elaborate silver and gold-colored aluminum serving pieces with a design pattern suggestive of etched crystal. There was even a Guild-designed line of upholstered “Kensington Aluminum Chairs”. However, faux wood-grain enamel covered any exposed aluminum on the chairs, since postwar buyers seemed underwhelmed by anything reminiscent of the pre-war “machine age”.
Fortunately, because it was mass-produced, original Art Deco Kensington Ware still remains readily available on the secondary market. Collectors can revel in its beauty, delight in its usability - or do both, which is just as Lurelle Guild intended.
“The beauty of Kensington is not merely style-deep. It is not something to be bought today and discarded tomorrow. Each piece has an heirloom quality that will last through generations. Lovers of loveliness will want to examine the whole, fascinating family of Kensington.”
Kensington sales brochure, 1935
Donald-Brian Johnson (text) and Leslie Piña (photos) are the co-authors of numerous Schiffer books on mid-twentieth century design, including “Deco Décor” (with more on Kensington and Lurelle Guild), and the recent release, “Postwar Pop”. Dr. Piña is also a co-author of “Art Deco Aluminum: Kensington”. Please address inquiries to: donaldbrian@msn.com
ALL PHOTOS BY LESLIE PIÑA