20 Everyday Objects
Clothes-pressing iron. It has a streamlined body in shining metal and a black plastic handle.
1930

Universal Travel Iron

Designed by
Unknown
Material
Chromium-plated steel, Bakelite
Produced by
by Landers Frary & Clark, New Britain, Conn., USA
Dimensions
9.5 x 19.5 x 10 cm

The Liliane and David M. Stewart Program for Modern Design, gift of S. Bernard Paré, 2015.34

Most irons are streamlined, as the form itself is a teardrop shape, characteristic of the style. Though it was produced before the term Good Design was in wide use, this iron illustrates the characteristics of Good Design in the minimal, unornamented aesthetic, which is seen in many utilitarian objects of the period. Universal was the brand name used by Landers for all their appliances.