Arthur Radebaugh: Where are my flying cars?
So this post was going to be about some of Redwood City's "greatest generation" - folks who had worked at National Motor Bearing, (NBM), in Redwood City. (Click here to read our article with more on National Motor Bearing.) But, for today, its just going to be about one of those people: Arthur Radebaugh, (1906-1974), a man who was at the forefront of the atomic advertizing of the 50s - an artist who sadly lapsed into obscurity as photography took over advertizing.
Radebaugh wasn't based out of Redwood City, but his creative genius helped to project a cutting edge image for NMB, and more importantly for Redwood City.
I was researching NMB and kept stumbling on posters, newspaper and magazine ads for the company - all from the 50s, and all designed by Radebaugh. Fantastical renderings of robotic machines, tools and architecture that captivate the imagination.
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| Source: Chris Mullen's Visual Telling of Stories. |
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| Source: Chris Mullen's Visual Telling of Stories.
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| Source: Chris Mullen's Visual Telling of Stories.
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Via Flickr: Images from James' Vaughan's X-Ray Delta one Flickr stream
Radebaugh was a Detroit-based illustrator, who from 1951-55 was NMB's advertising artist. He had also done work for major brands like Chrysler, Coca-Cola, Bohn, United Airlines. A fantastical futurist guru that made the shims and seals manufactured in Redwood City, look so ultra modern, practical, lustworthy, and desirable.
His creative talent and futurist imagination had been well honed by his stint in the army when in 1942 he went to work for the Pentagon's Ordnance Office, heading up an R&D department of Design and Visualization, designing weapons of the future, and other useful things.
He was a pioneer in the use and development of the airbrushing technique in media as evidenced in his body of work.
His most prolific artwork, is the syndicated newspaper strip "Closer than we think" - with his depictions and accompanying blurb on future hospitals in the sky, flying cars, universal language boxes, electronic mail - or the charmingly entitled Lunar mailbag, robot railroading, electric home libraries, videophones, 24 hr daylight, magic beam highways, follow-the sun housing... usually in the funnies section. What is startling is how many of those "funnies" - his visions of the future - have in fact come true.
There's even one on his vision for rejuvenated downtowns...(sorry couldn't resist mentioning that one given RWC's downtown renovation...maybe we can pick up some more ideas!) Matt Novak's Paleofuture Magazine hosts quite a great collection of ads from the series of Radebaugh's visions printed in the funnies.
After WWII as the nation set about rebuilding itself, it was Radebaugh who helped put Redwood City on the map, specifically through his artwork for National Motor Bearing, just as he did for Chrysler and the City of Detroit. He was part of the Ad Men marketing machine of the 1950s.
Redwood City wasn't quite Silicon Valley then, but we were certainly at the forefront of technology and Radebaugh cemented that vision nationally. Why else would Federal Mogul buy them out? Almost immediately after the merger, the new company was propelled to #350 in the Fortune 500 list for 1956.
Radebaugh appears to be regaining recognition thanks in large part to a few people. His biography has been compiled by Todd Kimmel, with a special website created by Rachel Mackow and Jared Rosenbaum, at arthur-radebaugh.blogspot.com.
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External References
For more biographical information on Radebaugh, as well as examples of his work, the following sites are also interesting sources :
Radebaugh: The Future we were promised by CarType
Fast-forward with Arthur Radebaugh by Phil Beard
Paleofuture Magazine - a wealth of articles by Matt Novak
Imaging the Future - Visual Telling of Stories by Chris Mullen
