Publication Date : October 2015

Publication date: October 2015

The decades of the 1950s and 1960s continue to exert a powerful fascination, as seen in the lasting popularity of Mad Men, Crown Lynn collectibles and mid-century design. In New Zealand, these postwar years have been remembered in popular culture as a ‘golden age’ of God, Queen and Country, full employment, the baby boom, Sir Edmund Hillary, and ‘Ladies, a plate!’ – as well as the birth of the teenager and the seedbed of later change. But what was life really like?

Real Modern tells a vibrant and varied story of real life in this compelling era through images and, above all, objects. Readers discover the real things that New Zealanders acquired and desired, that they used at school, work or play, and that they wore and saw around the country.

In hundreds of stunning new photographs from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and collections nationwide, readers will encounter not only much-loved retro memorabilia and design classics, but also ordinary and surprising everyday objects. Each is accompanied by lively, expert and informative text that links these pieces to the people who owned and used them, and to New Zealand’s wider social, political and cultural history. Real Modern is a rich compendium of everyday life in postwar New Zealand and an important new material history, full of local inflection and providing an utterly fresh and nuanced take on the 1950s and 1960s.

Previews ‘Impressive, interesting and beautifully written, Real Modernrepresents a valuable contribution to New Zealand history. For those who lived through the 1950s and 60s this book brings back powerful and intimate memories of daily life; for those who did not, it reveals a fascinating and surprising world.' – Jock Phillips

‘Joyful’ is the perfect word to sum up this book. Somehow we’ve been led to believe that New Zealand at this time was cautious, stodgy and dull, but Real Modern shows it was anything but. The New Zealand in this book is witty, inventive, adventurous and eager for new experiences. And the clothes were just gorgeous.

Real Modern does more than diligently record the familiar objects of the 1950s and 1960s; it captures the feeling of what it was like to live then…’ – Catherine Robertson

‘Like an archaeological dig, objects give us meaning to an era in history. From the fabrics to the furniture, the Three Flowers talcum powder to the Vance Vivian shops, Bronwyn's book Real Moderndoes just that for the ‘50s and ‘60s in New Zealand. Real Moderntakes us beyond the usual kiwiana and retro labels. A fascinating read. ’ – Wallace Chapman

‘Delicious, disturbing, surprising. Real Modern takes us to the world of things we once loved and dreams we could believe. On every page a discovery and rediscovery of a uniquely New Zealand era, when luxury came by way of the consolette tv, bikini chair, island bench and Loxene shampoo. A book where history unfolds in the glorious panorama of everyday life.’ – Professor Charlotte Macdonald

About the author

Bronwyn Labrum is an associate professor in the School of Design at Massey University, and was formerly curator of history and textiles at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. She has written widely about New Zealand’s cultural and social history, museums and material culture, and has a long-standing interest in the mid-twentieth century and its objects.

NZ RRP (incl. GST): $75.00 Extent: 432 pp Illustrations: More than 500 colour and black-and-white images Format: 265mm x 230mm Binding: HB ISBN: 9780994104175