Better than space stuff:
Eat your heart out, Graco.
Source: Steven1980 at Brickshelf via LEGO Block Block
Monthly Archive for April, 2009
Page 2 of 2
So lethal-looking, but so determinedly inventive:
It’s the Superstroller, and it replaces a ton of household stuff that’s probably cluttering up your life even as you read this. Here’s the list of things you could do without, if only this were 1947 and you owned a Superstroller:
- Infant toilet adapter seat
- Car seat
- Jumper chair
- Potty training chair
- Car bed
- Stroller
- Bassinet
- High chair
- Baby carriage
- Shopping cart
- Wheelbarrow
- Golf cart
- Hand truck
But don’t take my word for it. Here’s a photo of the goods, all lined up impressively:
Just in case you don’t recognize some of these crucial pieces of equipment, my list starts at the lower left and goes clockwise around the photo.
Here it is in the family car:
Here’s dad, using it for work:
and leisure:
Sadly, it’s no longer 1947, and the Superstroller has gone the way of dad’s pipe. If you’d like your baby to ride around in a cart that has recently moved the compost, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Source: Life magazine archives
My brother-in-law’s partner spied this at a shop in New York, and figured I was the demographic it was meant to attract. (All one of me!) It’s one of my favorite gifts:
Beautiful, isn’t it? That second handle, at the front, next to the hood, was undoubtedly meant to protect this rather manic buggy from destruction. Interestingly enough, it’s an authentic feature from the days when menservants were drafted into dragging huge perambulators up and down stairs. That bar is called the “butler’s handle”.
Kid Galaxy made it, but its not on the website at the moment. Amazon is out, and notes that “we don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock”.
From Bent Fabrications, a glorious aluminum “PRAMULATOR” set on a genuine vintage perambulator chassis:
Another view:
From fabricator John Knott’s info page:
My inspiration comes from the tension created by the interaction of people and objects moving through the world. I strive to imbue commissioned pieces with the spirit and lifestyle of my clients.
The combination of the vintage chassis, the glowing aluminum capsule and the brick walk is just about perfect. Take that, you unimaginative rabbit!
The Pram Museum is 10 years old today!
Ten years ago when The Pram Museum was born on April 8, 1999, we were the first (and only) pram museum on the Internet. Come to think of it, we are still the only formal pram museum in cyberspace.
If we were having a party, we’d want a cake just like this beautiful one from Gateaux Campagna in New Jersey. Instead, though, we’re planning to make this year the one when The Pram Museum finally gets a long overdue overhaul. We’ve got almost as many prams and strollers to add to the website as are already online.
So no party for us. Not yet, at least. First, we need to get cracking; there’s work to be done!
In the meantime, do stop by and visit the Museum — and do take a look at the websites listed under “Collections” on the right side bar just to the right of this page. We may still be the only formal museum of its kind, but there are some brilliant collections out there, just awaiting your viewing pleasure.
Helen Levitt died on April 3, 2009 at 95 years of age. What does the life of this US photographer have to do with prams, you ask? Well, nothing and everything. There was a time, pre-air conditioning, pre-television, when people lived on city streets: elders on porches, babies in large buggies, children on sidewalks or literally playing in the street. Helen Levitt documented those days.
Levitt took her tiny camera with its faked-out lens — designed so that she could make pictures while not looking directly at her subjects — and recorded that life, in the 1930s and 1940s.
So here’s the relevant picture, taken by Levitt around 1940, in New York:
. . . along with a nod to the passing of Helen Levitt and of old-style US baby carriages and their place in our shared social history.
Read Melissa Block’s essay about Levitt on NPR.
Stroller purchase advice, from the [Semya].name post “We Select the Carriage“:
However, what it is necessary precisely for you in order not to be disappointed in the carriage after several days?
(Yes, we here at The Pram Museum Blog love Babelfish. Totally.) Or, if you prefer, in the original Russian:
Что же нужно именно вам, дабы не разочароваться в коляске через несколько дней?
Apparently, this is what you need:
No, I don’t know where to buy it, and it’s not mentioned in the article. But I WOULD buy one, if I could. Totally.
It’s more like a “torture device”:
Doesn’t matter whether I pretend to be that poor kid, or the doubled-over mom. Either way, the longer I look, the more achy I feel.
From the Modern Mechanix blog, in the August 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics.
Featured in Gotham Art & Theater on artnet:
Interested? It’s on sale at Ameringer | Yohe | Fine Art for $250,000.
Or you could buy 250 Stokke Xplories instead.
Read Elisabeth Kley’s article about James Castle and his work here. (Scroll down to find Castle.)
Quinny Zapp
We don’t normally collect modern strollers at The Pram Museum, but admit to a real attraction to the more interesting contemporary models. To us, “More interesting” means “cool engineering”. So when The Right Start finally went under last month, we bought a lonely Quinny Zapp that had been left stranded in a near-empty store.
It’s a lovely machine. The fold is pure genius, and it’s so small when folded that getting it in and out of even my over-stuffed subcompact car trunk is incredibly easy. You can hardly find it in the SUV. I love the baby-preying-mantis look of the fold, and the marvelous way it fits into the (included) carry bag.
Yes, it steers like a dream. Only one hand free? No problem! You wouldn’t want to take this baby over cobblestones — the wheels are hard, and there’s no suspension to speak of — but for quick trips on planes, trains and automobiles, you couldn’t do much better than this for your over-six-month-old. (Younger babies could ride in a car seat, using the included adapters, but your Curator hates the US American habit of hauling babies around in plastic shells all day long, so I’m not endorsing that here. So there.)
Expect a bit of a learning curve first few times you do the fold. It works perfectly, but patience while you learn it will pay off — it’s not an intuitive fold, and nearly everyone will need to practice initially, especially if you’re used to conventional folds. The fourth time around, I was a pro, and now it’s second nature.
The seat is very tall, and much wider than it looks. The basket isn’t truly accessible, but just fine for small stuff (which won’t fall out, due to high walls) and for sweaters and jackets. A canopy (with side windows for baby), rain shield, and the carry bag are all included, along with the car seat adapters (for the Maxi-Cosi).
Ours came with a rattle in one wheel. A quick email exchange with Quinny/Dorel was all it took to get the wheel replaced, and it arrived within days. In fact, that was the most amazing demonstration of positive customer support that I’ve seen in years — very impressive. No argument, no fuss, no bother at all. Wow!
Baby Gizmo has a great review and demo on YouTube.