Love for Retro

There was a line that Steve McQueen uttered in his final movie that sticks in my mind.  He had just picked up a nice, new Firebird from the rental car company and he asked, "Don't you have anything older?"  Sometimes I feel that same way.

I wonder why I'm drawn to old stuff?  It doesn't take a genius to notice that I'm strangely enamored with items and designs from the past.  I'm not just talking about stuff from my past either.  I find the stuff I like the most is from before my time. Maybe I was born in the wrong decade?  Maybe even the wrong century?  No, I like tech stuff way too much to make that statement.  I think what I like is a good marriage of new technology and old design.

I tried to categorize my likes of various things, but it's hard to do.  I like fashions of the 20's and the 50's.  I like cars from the 40's and 50's.  I like motorcycles from the 30's and 40's.  It's like I'm just all over the place!

Here is one thing I know is from my childhood, and directly related to my dad: I've always loved cars and motorcycles that are painted flat black.  If a flat black car or motorcycle has plain, steel wheels that are painted with bright primary colors (usually red) and also has whitewall tires then I really take notice.  That was the post-war automotive style that was going on when I was born.  Obviously there were enough of them around that they had an impact on me.  There are a few with that look here if you want to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Motorcycles?  I just like old.  The old stuff was so different.  So elegant, so stylish, so oddly cool.  Besides looking different, the various motorcycle manufacturers (and there were quite a few of them) were also incorporating very interesting engine designs, all with advertising that loudly touted theirs as revolutionary and superior.  The Ariel Square Four comes to mind.  As its name would suggest, the four cylinders of the engine were in two rows of two--a square.  I really like the Harley-Davidsons of the flathead era.  The finned engines just had a look that I love.  All of the mechanical things of that era that I love are persnickety--just like me.  They aren't for everybody.

I can't pass up anything that has retro styling without stopping to admire it.  In the early to middle 20th century practically everything had style.  Extra trim pieces, chrome, ribs, fins, texture or whatever were built into practically everything.  Toasters, bicycles, radios--Even the big glass vacuum tubes in the radios had style!

I like neon signs too. I suppose I like them because neon lights are old technology.  They are also very much a symbol of what we all call Americana.  Anything that is old and cool and unique to our strange country is called Americana.  I guess I should say old, cool, and collectible.  We like to collect things in this country.  Good luck trying to find anything from 50-100 years ago any longer.  There are lots and lots of professional collectors and antiques dealers that constantly scour the country for old, collectible items.  The small towns all across the country are being bought up--one building or item at a time--and their signs, supplies, tools, farm equipment, and anything else contained in them are being sold off to collectors trying to re-live yesteryear.

The early 20th century was our "golden era" on so many levels.  Practically everything was still evolving.  Technologies, designs, processes, materials, and just about everything else was still in a learning stage.  Plastics were almost nonexistent, many metals were still being tweaked, and there were no computers or robotics to help with anything.  No, it was a much different time.  Companies were trying to establish their own identity through innovative product design.  There were "races" to get their products out before the other guys did.

We didn't have to look for the "Made in USA" wording on a product back then.  Unless it was a "niche" item like a Swiss watch or German precision stainless steel medical instruments, it was all made in the U.S.  Because it was made it the U.S. you could just about bank on the fact that there was going to be some style involved in the product design.  I wonder when we actually did start to adopt flash and pizazz in our products?  Maybe it was about the U.S. always being a melting pot of people from all over the world.  A cultural mishmash of people with many trying to be unique in any way they could.  While some people liked quiet, utilitarian designs, the majority of the consumers probably preferred fancy. 

I started this blog post with the intention of concentrating on my love for certain old things--the things I love and the reasons I love them.  It seems to have almost turned into a sort of commentary doesn't it?  I guess that's typical when I start writing.  Oh well.