Side Table, designed by Clement Meadmore, 1954.
There has been a lot of talk about the value of research and arguably some confusion about what is involved when it comes to researching Australian Mid-Century designers. With this is mind, I thought it might be useful to highlight the importance of design research, by using an example from @modernistermister’s and my own experience. The Side Table (1954) above, had been lost to time, but through our research is now rightly documented as part of Clement Meadmore’s design output. How did this come about? Research involves detective work, and in the case of this particular design, my interest was peaked by a 1990s photo of the interior of Peter McIntyre’s Snelleman House (1954). In the darkness of the room, obscured by a lounge chair, I spotted what appeared to be the circular top of a small table with what looked like part of a steel rod base. We knew that the Snelleman’s had selected a number of Meadmore pieces for their home (as seen in an issue of the Australian Home Beautiful from the period), so I wondered if this had also included the table in question.
At this point you ask yourself a lot of questions, and spend a lot of time staring at that single photograph, attempting to fill in the gaps, to get an idea of what the rest of the table might look like. A year or so later I saw what looked like the same table on eBay and decided to take a punt. The table came with a story that it had been owned by an elderly woman in Geelong who had treasured it her entire life. It suggested to me that this was perhaps a special piece, but more research was needed.
Stacking Table (model T710), designed by Jens Risom, c.1950.
The side table shared similarities with Jens Risom’s stacking steel rod table (model T710) c.1950. So was the table we had purchased an import, or had its design been influenced by the work of an international designer such as Risom? We examined Meadmore’s practice closely, considered his design philosophy and his construction techniques, and believed that this little side table appeared to fit those parameters. So we set forth on a journey of many interviews with people who were there at the time, including members of the Snelleman family, and eventually we were able to confirm that the side table seen many years prior in an old photo of the Snelleman house interior had indeed been purchased by the family in 1954, and designed by Clement Meadmore.
Some people have suggested that it’s impossible to know the creative output of a designer who is no longer living, but I would argue that history tells us this is simply not the case. The role of rigorous research is to bring together evidence, and then cross-reference that evidence to scrutinise its authenticity. It is through this process that it is possible to build a case built on facts, rather than hearsay and myths. Over the past 10 years, @modernistmister and I have conducted almost 100 interviews with people connected to Meadmore, including close friends and family who were regular visitors to his workshop in the early 1950s. Our research has uncovered many previously unattributed and undocumented designs, such as this side table, which recently sold for a record price at Leonard Joels Auctions.
It’s funny to think that before our research this table remained unknown to the broader design community.At the time of the table’s production in 1954, Meadmore was running a small freelance design business from a shop on Burwood Road, Hawthorn. In the back of the tiny shop he created and assembled his iconic Calyx Lighting range, but he also produced a small number of furniture designs that were most likely made by the handful, rather than the dozens. When you take into account these small production numbers, and the artistry of Meadmore’s design practice, you can see why Meadmore has become one of the most sought after Australian Mid-Century designers. Since the Clement Meadmore: The art of mid-century design exhibition at Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne University, there has been an increase in prices paid for Meadmore designs. Perhaps this is the beginning of a long awaited acknowledgement of the significance of Clement Meadmore’s design practice in Australia.
The point of this post is not to focus on us, rather it is to demonstrate the real impact of rigorous, and sometimes quite forensic, design research. Everyday, people just like you and I, are out there researching, trawling through archives and capturing interviews, collecting evidence and compiling the histories of Australian designers from across a wide range of disciplines. It needs to be acknowledged that much of this research involves thousands of unpaid hours, and that we all benefit from this work, especially those who profit from the research through the sale of design objects. Australian Mid-Century Design research is informing exhibitions, books, and collections in our public institutions. As we fill in the gaps of this often overlooked history, we owe it to the designers of these objects to strive for accuracy, to acknowledge their contribution and celebrate their legacy.
Australian Modern: Mid-Century Architecture and Design 
Thanks Dean, for a timely and powerful argument on the value of design research. As with the scientific method, only research and testing of theories can reveal reliable facts. As you say, myth and supposition are no way to ensure the preservation and promotion of our design heritage.
And here’s an interesting thing. Speaking as a vintage design dealer (oh, the shame!), it’s hard for us to find the information we require in a timely fashion. Many are the items I’ve sold only to find much later that they were more important than I’d understood. I will also admit, for honesty and clarity, that many are the items I’ve learned are not what I thought they were, even when they were widely accepted as the ‘real thing’. Dealers would do well to understand that misattribution costs them customers, credibility and stock value. One of the most rigorously research-driven design auction houses – Wright 20th Century in LA – also consistently achieves the highest prices because their customers now trust their faultless attributions and are happy to pay appropriately. Do you think dealers are aware of what research can do to improve the quality and importance of their own offering?
I do my best to ensure appropriate attribution. It can be devilishly hard at times and, as you point out, takes a lot of time, reflection and research. I think many dealers do their best to understand the origin of their stock but it’s hard to resist the associations we make between objects of similar style. A feeling in our bones is not the same as proof positive.
I greatly value your work because, eventually, it will lead to Australia having a more comprehensive reference to our twentieth century design output and a greater appreciation of our designers. But it does feel at times as though we need an army of researchers in Australia, to flesh out the bones of our design history. I’m sure that I and others have muddied the waters at times, with misattributions and misguided guesses.
As you well know, the internet is of very dubious use in this regard. Once a misattribution is out there, it’s simply too easy for dealers and collectors to latch onto. It must drive you bonkers! So, I just want to say thanks and keep going!
I’m curious, do you have a top ten or a list of best design resources for Australian furniture? Trove, your own website/articles/books, Nat. Gallery websites, exhibition catalogues etc are all good but not comprehensive. And how far along do you think we are? Have we made a real dent in the task of documenting Australia’s 20th Century design production or are we right at the tip of iceberg? I’d love to know more about the extent and nature of the research that’s going on in Australia right now – is it tiny or extensive? Is it well funded or barely at all?
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