The Friday gem this week features a small collection of pencil and charcoal design sketches by Max Forrer, bought by James Templeton & Co. in the early 1930s (STOD/DES/121/5/1-10).
The Stoddard Templeton Design Archive contains quite a number of designs by Max Forrer, and a possible relative of his, C G Forrer, all of which were purchased from the Paris based designers over a period of almost 50 years (1880s-1930s). Through Max Forrer’s design logos, which are stamped upon his sketches, we know that during the 1930s he had studios in both Rue Richer (just along from the infamous Folies Bergère) and Rue Vivienne. Both designers illustrate great skill and versatility in the designs they sold to the company, tracking the changing trends within interior design throughout the period.
These sketches are by no means typical of Max Forrer’s work contained within the Stoddard Templeton Design Archive, not least for their monochrome execution achieved through the medium of pencil and/or charcoal on tracing paper.
I particularly like these designs as they really seem to capture both the art deco mood of the 1930s, and also the dark portents of things to come.
For more information on the Stoddard-Templeton Collection click here, or visit the project blog.
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