Getting Your Bearings

The above 1940s Timken promotional advertisement showcases a futuristic design for the truck of the future, a concept created by NYC industrial designer Lurelle Guild (1898-1985). He was quite optimistic about manufacturers bringing his truck concept to reality. Only with Timken axles, of course. Among his designs displayed in art museums was his iconic cylindrical design of the 1937 Electrolux vacuum cleaner. A modified model even became a laser weapon prop in the movie, Superman and The Mole Men (1951).

 
The German-born Henry Timken (1831-1909), could not possibly have imagined such fantastic transportation in 1888. But one cannot move a wheel without bearings. He obtained a patent for an improved tapered roller bearing, and in 1899 incorporated The Timken Roller Bearing Axle Company in St. Louis. The company moved to Canton, Ohio in 1901 as the automobile industry began to overtake the carriage industry. 

Timken entered international markets in the early 1900s initially in Great Britain, France and Germany. The performance of Timken bearings in the First World War made an impression on the European bearing market. Timken production increased dramatically during the Second World War to keep up with wartime demand. Every U.S. jeep was built using 24 Timken bearings. It resulted in delivering more than 15.8 million bearings for those vehicles over the course of the war.

Starting in the 1960s, Timken saw greater worldwide expansion. With the purchase of a major competitor, the company doubled in size in the early twenty-first century. Today, the Timken Company is a global manufacturer of bearings and power transmission products operating in forty-two countries. Apparently Guild's "future truck" is yet to come.

Synopsis: Thrust Into Television

Many movie character actors found steady work and arguably more exposure with the advent of television.

MORRIS ANKRUM (1897-1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor appearing in countless films from the 1930s to the mid-1950s. His credits were largely concentrated in the Western and Science-Fiction genres, often as authority figures, scientists, numerous military figures, judges, bankers, and even psychiatrists in more than 270 films and television episodes. His portrayal of Native Americans was less believable, however. Because of his commanding facial countenance, Ankrum could also play believable villains. Between numerous and varied television appearances, he could be seen as a judge on twenty-two episodes of Perry Mason. Somewhat ironic since Ankrum had a law degree from The University of Southern California. A career he pursued before getting the acting bug.

Discover more about Ankrum's career at IMDB.

Imitation Is The Best Compliment

Al Parker (1906-1985) defined the progressive look and feel of published imagery at a time of sweeping change, when Americans, emerging from the great depression and War, sought symbols of hope and redemption on the pages of our nation’s periodicals. His innovative modernist artworks created for mass-appeal women’s magazines and their advertisers captivated upwardly mobile mid-twentieth century readers, reflecting and profoundly influencing the values and aspirations of American women and their families during the post-war era. 

Parker is credited with creating a new school of illustration and was much imitated. To distinguish himself from his imitators, he worked in a variety of styles, themes and media. Examples range from children's crayons to acrylics. He sold illustrations to Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, McCall's, The Saturday Evening Post, Sports Illustrated, Town and Country and Vogue. A stamp commemorating his art was issued by the United States Postal Service in 2001 as part of the American Illustrators Issue series.