Breger Gustavsberg pitcher | Carl-Arne Breger | Gustavsberg, Sweden

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Breger Gustavsberg pitcher | Carl-Arne Breger | Gustavsberg, Sweden | 1957

Carl-Arne Breger
Gustavsberg, Sweden
1957

Carl-Arne Breger was a Swedish industrial designer known for his work in plastics. He was born in Trelleborg in 1923 and raised there. Between 1943 and 1948, he studied at Konstfack in Stockholm. In 1953, Breger began employment under Stig Lindberg at the Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory.

Gustavsberg logo.

Carl-Arne Breger’s most famous plastic product is probably this organic, sculptural water jug made from polystyrene. After 18 months of development, the pitcher was presented in February, 1959 in three colors: black, red and off-white. It was in production for only a year since dangerous gasses were released as a result of gluing. Between 1957 and 1959, Breger was design director for Bernadotte & Bjørn Industrial AB (the design office of Sigvard Bernadotte and Acton Bjørn in Stockholm) and in 1959 he started his own office, Breger Design in Malmö. Breger was fantastically prolific, having designed thousands of objects over the course of his career. Breger died in 2009.

The Breger pitcher for Gustavsberg measures 7” wide by 5” deep by 13-1/2” height and is signed with a manufacturer’s mark to underside (the Gustavsberg anchor logo) and also “MADE IN SWEDEN”. There is also a paper label affixed to the bottom of the pitcher, giving the working temperature range, cautioning against the use of various cleaning solvents, and warning that the pitcher may take on strong smells of the contents.

The label reads:

Slagtålig STYRENPLAST

Materialet tål +70° och –40°C, svaga syror, svaga alkalier, fruktsaft, alkohol, Tål ej tri, tetra, aceton, bensol, bensin, mineralterpentin, aromatiska oljor t ex skaloljor av citrusfrukter, kryddnejlika. Luktfritt, men tar lukt av starkt luktande ämnen.

Off-white