Zipper

An Exploration in Novelty

Robert D. Friedel

$37.95

Paperback

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English

WW Norton & Co
08 January 2010

Mathematics & Sciences; Impact of science & technology on society; Clothing & footwear manufacture

It is almost impossible to imagine modern life without this device; yet for the first thirty years or so, from its patent in the late nineteenth century, it represented no real advantage over traditional fasteners like the hook-and-eye or the old-fashioned button. The zipper was mechanically awkward, liable to rust, liable to fail (i.e., snag or burst open), and so expensive that it doubled the retail price of a skirt or a pair of pants. But from the beginning the zipper had an allure, a mystery, a kind of sex appeal that would be echoed in songs, poems, and popular novels.

Robert Friedel has written a fascinating history—full of strange twists, paradoxes, and interesting characters—of this signature gadget of the twentieth century. Inventor Whitcomb Judson (whose efforts lay mostly in patenting a doomed undertaking known as the Pneumatic Streetcar) gave the zipper life; businessman Colonel Lewis Walker had the capital and the faith to back it for forty years; and cultural icons such as Marlon Brando, Erica Jong, and the Rolling Stones helped to turn it into a symbol for sexuality and style.

Not just the story of a distinctive technology, Zipper is an entertaining, informative examination of how new things become part of our daily lives, shaping how we think and act.

By: Robert D. Friedel
Imprint: WW Norton & Co
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 211mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 393g
ISBN: 9780393313659
ISBN 10: 0393313654
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 08 January 2010
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Robert Friedel is a professor of the history of technology and science at the University of Maryland, College Park. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Reviews for Zipper: An Exploration in Novelty

How the ingenious zipper, a newfangled, unwanted novelty, became a ubiquitous part of daily life is the story told in this engaging chronicle peopled by a colorful cast of characters. -- Publishers Weekly