{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O322014"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O322014/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AT9586/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AT9586/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AT9586","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O322014","accessionNumber":"W.47-1981","objectType":"Duplicator","titles":[{"title":"Gestetner Duplicator","type":"popular title"}],"summaryDescription":"This machine is an example of an early photocopier. In 1929 Gestetner, the leading manufacturer of duplicators approached the American designer Raymond Loewy. They asked him to improve the appearance of their machines, which were quite complicated assemblages of steel, gears, levers and knobs. The sleek black case Loewy designed was his first industrial commission, and the first example of the \"streamlining\" technique he is credited with inventing. Loewy went on to become a very successful industrial designer who applied streamlining to a wide range of industrial goods, including the classic Coca-Cola bottle, refrigerators, and the interior of the Skylab space station.","physicalDescription":"Duplicating machine mounted on a wooden cabinet, the mechanism of metal with rubber elements","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Loewy, Raymond Fernand","id":"A12521"},"association":{"text":"designed by","id":"x40048"},"note":"casing"}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Gestetner Ltd","id":"A33491"},"association":{"text":"designed and made by","id":"x28674"},"note":"mechanism"}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"metal","id":"AAT10900"},{"text":"wood","id":"AAT11914"},{"text":"rubber","id":"AAT12941"}],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"metal, wood, rubber","categories":[{"text":"Furniture","id":"THES48948"},{"text":"Product design","id":"THES49025"},{"text":"Tools & Equipment","id":"THES48883"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"FWK","id":"THES48597"},"images":["2006AT9586"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"74","id":"THES49720"},"free":"","case":"2","shelf":"FLOOR","box":""},{"current":{"text":"74","id":"THES49720"},"free":"","case":"2","shelf":"FLOOR","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Duplicator","id":""}],[{"text":"Duplicator","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1929","earliest":"1929-01-01","latest":"1929-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Gestetner International Ltd.","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"34","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"mechanism","note":"Dimensions from original record of acquisition, entered as mm, but 34 x 61 x 38 cm is more realistic than the millimetre equivalent."},{"dimension":"Width","value":"61","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"38","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"134","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"approximate, including cabinet","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Foot-print in cm: D. 65 x H. 123 x W. 43 (with flap up)\r\n\r\nThe dimensions in the acquisition record presumably refer to the machinery and do not include the wooden cabinet upon which it sits. (approximate measurement taken through glass display case, 18/5/2010)","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"In 1929, Gestetner asked Raymond Loewy to improve the appearance of their machines. Lowey designed a sleek black shell for the duplicator. This was the first example of the \"streamlining\" technique, which is credited to Loewy. For the next fifty years Loewy would apply the method to a wide range of industrial goods and designs, including the slender Coca-Cola bottle, Frigidaire refrigerators, the Greyhound bus, the John F. Kennedy memorial postage stamp, and the interiors of spaceships including the Skylab space station and Saturn V.\r\n\r\nA modern duplicator by Gestetner was acquired at the same time as this, to serve for comparison. Its number is W.64-1981","historicalContext":"This machine is an example of an early photocopier. Gestetner first invented the duplicating machine (also called Gestetners, Cyclostyles, Cyclographs or mimetographs) in the 1870s. He founded the Gestetner Cyclograph Company in London in 1881. The original Gestetner duplicating machine, or mimetograph, was called the Gestetner Cyclostyle and was made in the late 19th century, about 1890. It was a complicated assemblage of open steel with many gears, levers and knobs. They were the forerunners of the office printer and photocopier, enabling documents to be reproduced using a stencil. Ink was pressed through a sheet of waxed paper which had been written upon beforehand with a stylus. The stylus broke the paper surface and removed the wax coating, creating a stencil which could be used again and again until sufficient copies of the document were created. With the invention of the typewriter, it was possible to create stencils that produced copies resembling proper print.","briefDescription":"British 1929 des. Raymond Loewy man. Gestetner","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Mass produced","id":"THES48863"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"9. Duplicator: Gestetner Model 66\r\nDesigned by Raymond Loewy (French, 1893-1986)\r\nMade by Gestetner Ltd., Great Britain, 1929\r\nWood and metal\r\nGiven by Gestetner International Ltd.\r\nW.47-1981\r\n\r\nThis is an early example of the consultant designer applying streamlined appearance to an existing industrial product. Loewy transformed the shape by covering the existing model with clay to mould a new form. It remained in continuous production until after the Second World War. Loewy asked for three days and 2,000 dollars for his services.\r\n\r\nThis label was written for the display of the Duplicator in the 20th century galleries, which closed in 2020.","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}},{"text":"Mechanising office work\n\nThe typewriter and duplicator were both designed to improve standardisation in the workplace. In 1929, the British manufacturer Gestetner approached American designer Raymond Loewy to enhance the appearance of their duplicator, a machine similar to a photocopier and printer. He streamlined the bulky machine, making it less cumbersome and more appealing to use. The Double Pigeon typewriter was designed to mechanise the writing of the Chinese language. To overcome the complexity of Chinese script, it features over 2000 loose characters which typists could easily rearrange to speed up their work.\r\n\nHand-operated copying machine \nDuplicator, Model 66, 1929\nDesigned by Raymond Loewy \nManufactured by Gestetner, UK \nMetal mechanism with rubber elements, wooden cabinet\nGiven by Gestetner International Ltd \nMuseum no. W.47-1981\n\nChinese typewriter with loose characters \nDouble Pigeon, DHY-d series, 1980 (manufactured 1984)\nManufactured by Shanghai Typewriter Factory, China \nSteel and plastic \nMuseum no. FE.186-2011\n\nThe object is displayed in the 'Automation and Labour' section of the Design 1900-Now gallery opened in June 2021.","date":{"text":"2021","earliest":"2021-01-01","latest":"2021-12-31"}}],"partNumbers":["W.47:1-1981","W.47:2-1981"],"accessionNumberNum":"47","accessionNumberPrefix":"W","accessionYear":1981,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-03-10","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-24","availableToBook":false}}