Some very early publicity/ordering materials from the Elton Company recently surfaced and made their way into my hands. A total of 7 pages which very clearly answer one of my long standing questions about Umanoff's earliest work, the mystery of Post Modern Ltd.
Up until this point I had only one sole reference to Post Modern Ltd in a article published in the April 1953 edition of Living for Young Homemakers:
"Arthur H. Umunoff has tried in his work to substantiate the thesis that the fundamentals of pood design are in every way analogous to good homemaking. Accordingly, he works each item of furniture from the drawing board, through his own shop where he handles the raw materials directly, to actual use in his New York home with wife, Charlotte, and two young sons. As a partner in Post Modern, Ltd., which manufactures from his designs. Arthur has a hand in producing, merchandising, and selling, too. Some of his most interesting pieces are those which combine wrought iron and wood or laminated plastic: well sized desk (36x24x45) retails at $50, in birch, walnut or Formica; combination lamp table and magazine rack at $40 is available in the same materials"
This is the sole mention of this company and for quite some time it was all I had to go on, but now with this new documentation the picture begins to become clear.
In the very small print at the bottom left of the page is the following text "Manufactured by Post Modern Ltd., Springfield Gardens, L. I., N. Y.". and to the right the legend proclaiming exclusive distribution by the Elton Co., Inc. which pretty clearly defines the relationship between Umanoff, Post Modern Ltd., and The Elton Co..
Searching the NYS Corporation & Business Entities database unfortunately does not come up with any further information...
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ReplyDeletef.y.i. it was 'Post' Modern because AU's mother'a Anglicized maiden name was Post.
ReplyDelete