Italian design and society

'If you bought this machine, it said something about you.'

Art and design historian Dr Philippa Joseph examines three classic Italian designs - the Olivetti Lettera 22 typewriter, the Necchi Mirella sewing machine, and the Grillo telephone.

Olivetti advertising posters

Dr Joseph recommends taking a look at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's (SFMoMA) wonderful Ing. C. Olivetti & C. collection, which includes advertising posters designed by Giovanni Pintori.

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About Dr Joseph

Dr Philippa Joseph is an art, architectural, and design historian, a lecturer for Martin Randall Travel in Italy and Spain, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London (from October 2020). Since first living in Italy as a teenager, Dr Joseph has been fascinated by, and sought to research and understand, the development and specificity of industrial design in Italy in the decades following the Second World War.

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