History of Design (Fan) - Naman Loomba
 |
| Ceiling Fan of my hostel room Photo source -My camera |
So that is
why I have chosen my object as the ceiling fan. It's pretty common, right? Just
take a look around you and you will spot one.
If we look
at the definition of a fan, we will find 2 definitions of it as shown in the
above image. One defines electrical fans, while the other defines hand fans.
So let's
take a look at a brief history of fans and find out how they came to be and how
they are connected.
The earliest examples of fans dating back to 3000 BC in China. In India, the earliest fans were of palm leaves. In Persia and among the Arabs ostrich feather fans were in use early in the Christian era. Screen fans are mentioned as being in use in China.
These early hand fans could not be folded and were used as decoration and for ceremonial purposes, as well as to keep people cool, of course. These fans found their way to Europe through merchants and were reserved for the rich (Because poor people don’t deserve to be cool, apparently) It is usually made out of precious materials such as ivory or pearl and then decorated with even more precious materials such as gold or silver. It's easy to see why these early fans might have cost you a pretty penny.
Eventually, the folding fan was invented in either Japan or China and found its way to Europe again through trade routes. Suddenly, folding fans became all the rage in 15th century Europe, and if you didn't have a folding fan, people simply saw you as less well off.
|
From the sixteenth century up to the late 1800s throughout the whole
of Europe, the dress of no fashionable lady en grande tenue appears
to have been complete without the addition of a fan. So prominent a
part has this little “modish machine" played in intrigue, love, and
scandal that it has been aptly termed "the woman's scepter."
Invitations were given by it, assignations were made; a gracious furl
encouraged the lover; a disdainful furl plunged him into despair. To read
aright this language became a necessity in the education of all fine
gallants, who must know how to understand each movement and interpret each
flutter.  |
|
The praises of the
fan have been sung by poets of various ages and in various climes. In England
the great essayist Addison thought it not unworthy of a place in the Spectator,
and in an amusing skit called "The
Fan Academy" he describes "the angry flutter, the modish
flutter, the timorous flutter, the confused flutter, the merry flutter, the
amorous flutter. Not to be tedious," he says, “if I only see the fan of
a disciplined lady, I know very well whether she laughs, frowns, or blushes.
I have seen a fan so very angry that it would have been dangerous for the
absent lover who provoked it to come within the wind of it, and at other
times so very languishing that I have been glad for the lady's sake the lover
was at a sufficient distance from it." Thus from its introduction, the
literature of the fan has been rich in satire, verse, and epigram. |
However coming back to the topic,
less well does not necessarily imply poor because fans have remained out of
reach for the average person.
Don't
worry, by the 1800s, the common man had grown tired of being too hot and a new
method for making folding fans was invented.
PRINTED
FOLDING FANS
They significantly lowered the production cost associated with fans, so everyone could afford them and the rich would have to share all the joy of making their own wind.
CEILING FAN
Looking back in time, the first noted ceiling fan was found in India in the 17th century. Called the punkah, this fan-like device was made from palm leaves or cloth and hung from the ceiling. They moved manually when a servant pulled a cord, turned the palms, or cloth, and moved the air. Today, like the rest of the world, India is still a huge mecca for ceiling fans.
By 1880 the first electric fan had been invented because of the prices these fans were made with aesthetics in mind and were concerned more than an appliance.
In 1890 someone thought it will be a good idea to put a guard around the blade however it wasn't for the protection of the user it was for the protection of expensive blades because god forbid you got too close to the fan and damage the blades of your nice new fan with the top of your head
The fans stayed like this until world war 1 broke down brass was suddenly high in demand to use for ammunition and the army didn't really need fans. So the fans company was forced to conserve materials so the length of the motor dropped from 8 to 5 inches and brass cages were replaced with steel ones
By 1920 air conditioners started coming up so fan companies started marketing the fan for home use. some fans were made with wooden frames to resemble television. A company named general electric introduced overlapping blades which were made of aluminum allowing them to use 5-inch motors and allowing them to run more quietly.
With the outbreak of world war 2, the fan companies dedicated their resources to the war effort after the war ended however air conditioning had become more viable for home use and fans couldn't compete.
By the 1960s most companies begin to phase out the families
and by the 1970s any fan in the market was made as cheaply as possible to make up for decreased sales and these are things we see today cheap plastic fans that strive for no aesthetic value
But still, the ceiling fans are not off the market by a long shot far from it they are still used as a sign of telltale or as an energy-efficient companion to air conditioners.
Hope you enjoyed the interesting tale of how the fans were once only a luxury product for the rich has now been converted to everyday household products for everyone.
Naman Loomba
22BDIO16
Citations
https://www.homelight.com/blog/are-ceiling-fans-out-of-style/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/71987294023366210/(for img)
https://www.fancollectors.org/fanhistory.htm
https://www.thefanmuseum.org.uk/fan-history
http://www.victoriana.com/Fans/historyofthefan.html
https://www.modernfanoutlet.com/blog/the-history-of-ceiling-fans.html#:~:text=Looking%20back%20in%20time%2C%20the%20first%20noted%20ceiling,the%20palms%2C%20or%20cloth%2C%20and%20moving%20the%20air.
https://kbelectricpa.com/ceiling-fans-a-brief-history/
http://edisontechcenter.org/Fan.html
Comments
Post a Comment