Mechanical Gears in the Jazz Age

As a result of WWI, the American economy was booming.  Factories and industry kept people employed while causing a lot of social changes.  The rhythm of industry, the new wages and shifts in acceptable behavior covered over the underlying sense of desperation from the War and created the blinding glamorous facade known as the Jazz Age.

A perk of this period was the creation of modernization in the home.  From time-saving devices like toasters to electric lamps, it was common to see shiny, metal objects on a daily basis.  Art celebrated this advent of mechanical gizmos by stylizing gears and mechanical parts.  Frequent themes featuring gears similar to this design were employed to decorate everything from iron work and wood veneers down to carpets and screens.  In a way, we are doing the same thing today by featuring bits of digital-age technology in designs on everything from bags to soda cans.