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Object number2002.33.41

Date2002

MediumAluminum

Credit LineGift of Louis Blum

DescriptionLarge square sample of open woven aluminum mesh, bound on all four sides by a brushed aluminum frame.Dimensions24 x 1.25 x 21 in. (61 x 3.2 x 53.3 cm)
Historical NotesMade specifically for the Historical Society of Western PA. Part of a collection of hand-wrought iron and aluminum architectural elements, including gates, railings, and window grilles, made by Hyman Blum, his son Louis, and shop workmen during the 1920s and 30s. Hyman was trained as a carriage blacksmith in Latvia and started his own business, Star Ornamental Iron Company, in Pittsburgh in 1908. By the early 1920s, Hyman and his company began crafting fine decorative ironwork for both public buildings and private residences throughout Pittsburgh. Louis joined the family business in 1927 and became their principle designer. Soon afterward, the renamed Hyman Blum Company commenced collaborating with the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) to develop aluminum for architectural work. As architectural fashions changed following the war, the company, renamed Blumcraft, ceased its decorative work and focused on modular aluminum commercial work, which it still produces today.

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