Ralph E. Guide to the Ralph E. Kruck Drawings, c.1927-1935

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Ralph E. Kruck Drawings
Creator
Kruck, Ralph E., 1906-1994.
Collection Number
MSS 530
Extent
2 linear feet linear feet (2 boxes)
Date
c.1927-1935
Abstract
The Westinghouse Electric Company launched its Design Department in 1929, with the goal of increasing sales of its products by improving their appearance. Ralph E. Kruck (1906-1994) joined the Westinghouse Electric Company as an industrial designer in 1931. This collection contains drawings by Kruck of a wide range of domestic products including fans, radio cabinets, and clocks. Also included are designs by industrial artists Donald L. Hadley and Raymond Loewy.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
The guide to this collection was written by Justin Charles Hite.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

History

The Westinghouse Electric Company launched its Design Department in 1929, with the goal of increasing sales of its products by improving their appearance. One of the first companies to recognize the importance of industrial design, Westinghouse won a number of design awards during the 1930s.

Ralph E. Kruck (1906-1994) joined Westinghouse as an industrial designer in 1931. A graduate of Carnegie Institute of Technology, which had one of the first Industrial Design programs, Kruck worked on designs for domestic appliances such as refrigerators and fans. In 1943, after working in Westinghouse's Engineering Department in Springfield, Massachusetts, Kruck was appointed manager of Westinghouse Electric Appliance Division's product design department in Mansfield, Ohio. In this position, he continued to design household products such as electric stoves and laundry machines. Over his career, Kruck patented designs for kitchen stoves, aerosol spray dispensers, a lipstick applicator, and space heaters. Kruck was featured in U.S. Industrial Design 1949-1950, an out-of-print publication from the Society of Industrial Designers, and Popular Mechanics (April, 1946 "Designs for Better Living").

Donald L. Hadley (1903-1978) was a consulting engineer for Westinghouse. He held patents for ranges, toasters, and coffee machines. While working in Westinghouse's East Pittsburgh office, Hadley contributed to the design of industrial electronics such as transformers, circuit breakers, and safety switches. He is featured in several magazine articles, including "Designs for Better Living" (Popular Mechanics, April, 1946) and "A Decade of Design" (Westinghouse Magazine, May 1939).

Raymond Loewy (1893-1986), often referred to as the "father of industrial design," performed contract work for Westinghouse during the 1930s. A native of France, he immigrated in 1919. Loewy is most noted for designing the Lucky Strike cigarette package, the slender Coca-Cola bottle, several models of Studebaker and Avanti Automobiles, the Greyhound bus, and locomotives for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Along with Westinghouse, he did contract work for Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue. Throughout his seven decade career, Loewy started three design companies, received contracts from major vendors, and lectured at several universities including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Scope and Content Notes

This collection contains drawings by Ralph E. Kruck of a wide range of domestic products and appliances. Also included are designs by other industrial artists who worked for Westinghouse, including Donald L. Hadley and Raymond Loewy. Many of the drawings are not signed. They were identified through the assistance of Hampton C. Wayt, an historian who is familiar with the individual styles and biographies of the industrial design artists represented in this collection.

Conditions Governing Access

The drawings are fragile and should be handled with gloves.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was originally part of the George Westinghouse Museum. Through a merger it is now housed at the Senator John Heinz History Center. According to the History Center's Westinghouse Historian, Ed Reis, the collection was donated to the George Westinghouse Museum by Ralph Kruck, Jr.

Preferred Citation

Ralph E. Kruck Drawings, c.1927-1935, MSS 530, George Westinghouse Museum Collection, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Justin Charles Hite in May 2009. Finding aid revised by Matt Strauss in May 2010.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Related Materials

Westinghouse Electric Company Records, MSS 424.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Westinghouse Electric Company.

    Personal Names

    • Kruck, Ralph E., 1906-1994.
    • Loewy, Raymond, 1893-1986.
    • Hadley, Donald L.

    Genres

    • Design drawings

    Other Subjects

    • Industrial design.
    • Household appliances--design and construction.

Container List