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Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

-0001

1930

  • Work on this object began.

1940

  • Work on this object ended.

2014

2025

  • You found it!

Sketch On Envelope For Pocket Brush (USA)

This is a Sketch on envelope for pocket brush. It was made by Joseph B. Friedman. It is dated ca. 1935. Its medium is pencil on paper.

Joseph Friedman’s best-known invention is the flexible straw, but the range of his inventive activities encompassed writing implements, improvements to engines, and objects for personal care, including this sketch for a seemingly simple pocket brush. Friedman frequently sketched on loose scraps of paper—he was especially fond of envelopes—working out ideas and solving problems, as here, where he laid out the basic premise of his invention in very simple terms: "Lays flat. Moves to vertical position to use. Case used as a handle. Brush does come out completely."

It is credited Joseph B. Friedman Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, 2001.3031.

Our curators have highlighted 10 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Comb
  • carved wood.
  • Gift of Kirkor Minassian.
  • 1921-29-25

Its dimensions are

H x W (drawing): 24.1 x 10.5 cm (9 1/2 x 4 1/8 in.)

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Tools: Extending Our Reach.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-3.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/51682471/ |title=Sketch On Envelope For Pocket Brush (USA) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=5 April 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>