It's interesting that Raymor distributed so many amazing examples of good design during the 1950's and 1960's, and yet so little is known about them.
I know, for example that Howard Miller did not distribute Nelson's Bubble Lamps, Lanterns, bird houses or weather waves....Raymor did.
Raymor handled Ben Seidel's nice ceramics, as well as importing Bitossi and other pieces from Italy, many of which can still be found with Raymor labels.
Raymor also got into manufacturing, as well, with Arthur Umanoff's 'Tiki' style furniture.
They also made clocks, and I believe they were involved with the importing of the ceramic clock blanks used by Howard Miller's Meridian division for those "George Nelson" ceramic clocks.
I can't find any history on the web about Raymor. Wikipedia hasn't a page of them, either....and no books that I can find.
Considering that they distributed some Howard Miller pieces, and therefore has involvement with George Nelson Associates, Arthur Umanoff, Ben Seidel and others, wouldn't it be nice to start accumulating from history on this rather important American company/importer?
I don't own anything, but I...
I don't own anything, but I share your interest and would also like to learn a little more.
They seem to have sold a lot of smaller items, such as clocks, lamps, smaller pieces of furniture, such as the Umanoff line and some of Tony Paul's designs for Woodlin-Hall. I have also seen advertisments featuring George Nelsons fire place tools and the bird houses.
I have also seen a few versions of a small side table, which was made using the same ceramic plates for the top, which was also used in the Meridian clocks. I have so far seen the blue Bitossi and the red/orange 'pizza-clock' used as tops for these tables.
Irving Richards, in associati...
Irving Richards, in association with Russell Wright, mid 1930s. Companies based in New York/New Jersey. Post WWII, Raymor began importing Scandinavian and Italian design (Jacobsen, Wirkaala, Sottsass, etc). Began producing items designed by Richards himself in the 1940s. Considerable information on Richards/Raymor appears available with a general web search.
I have quite an extensive...
I have quite an extensive collection of Raymor items (somewhere around 100 pieces), particularly ceramics by Bitossi. Some of my rarer pieces are hand-carved and painted wooden fish wall decor pieces and Haitian wooden serving trays.
I started collecting about 6 years ago when I scored my first piece at a thrift shop (a small dish with a rather large bird affixed to it). I've since built my collection via thrift stores (although this source is now all but gone because of the rise in popularity), estate sales, and ebay.
I also have a few pieces of furniture including an Arthur Umanoff tiki bar with stools, and black wrought iron end tables (imported by Raymor, but no designer attribution).
I have some of my collection on my flickr feed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22363146@N02/
and a few on an old photobucket account: http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk99/newstuffforhouse/?start=40
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22363146@N02/
What I know about Raymor
The firm we now refer to as Raymor was started in the 1930's by Irving Richards as an American Import company. In the 1940's the name was changed to Raymor/Richards/Morgenthau to reflect two new partners who joined Richards. The company did some of its own manufacturing, mostly furniture pieces, and imported furniture, ceramics and Home products from around the world. According to Industrial Design, Vol. 1 No. 1, February 1954: "Irving Richards, a driving force in bringing contemporary style in furniture and other home products to the American mass market, was an entrepreneur who, starting in the 1930s, sought out designers and manufacturers to make home products, which he promoted and distributed. He was best known for tabletop and accessories, including American Modern Dinnerware, but also sold furniture, including designs by Russel Wright. He was among the first to import Scandinavian contemporary furniture, including the Omnibus wall unit. Richards brought contemporary design in home furnishings and accessories to the average person in America."
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