This new publication is dedicated to the Baranger Motion Displays of the R. F. Collection
housed at the Vitra Design Museum. Motion Displays were conceived as eye-catching and novel
moving objects which - primarily in the US - were used in jewellers' shop-window displays to
attract customers. The Baranger Motion Displays were produced by Baranger Studios in Pasadena
CA between 1937 and 1957 and were lent to thousands of jewellers' shops over the years.
Primarily during the 1990s Rolf Fehlbaum Vitra Chairman Emeritus and founder of the Vitra
Design Museum worked to assemble a carefully selected a comprehensive collection of these
objects in Weil am Rhein. With large-scale illustrations of the different Motion Displays and
an atmospheric photo essay featuring black-and-white details of the objects the book provides
an unprecedented and in-depth view into this collection. In an accompanying essay Bill Shaffer
traces the success story of the displays and sheds light on the significance of the red cases
in which they were delivered to the jewellers. Along with Robots 1:1 and Space Fantasies 1:1
Baranger Motion Displays is the third publication to focus on the R. F. Collection. Visitors
can view the collection of Motion Displays at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein as part of the
Wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities) which also presents other parts of Rolf Fehlbaum's
wide-ranging collection. In order for readers to be able to experience the wonders of these
moving objects for themselves each Motion Display has been given a QR Code in the book which
links to an entertaining video clip of the display in action.
