Model Planning Layouts for School Shops (1953)
In 1953, somewhere deep among the pages of an issue of Industrial Arts & Vocational Education — F.C. Finsterbach (Fred) shared these photos, under the headline "Shop Layouts Made With 3-Dimension Models".
Never have I ever more badly wanted to find an accompanying deep-dive article with endless details and specifics. No such luck yet, but I tend to unearth these things eventually, if they exist.
Imagine a time in America when modelmakers found demand for creating meticulous shop planning models, complete with stunning little machines, pinwheel workbenches, storage, and so on.
Imagine a time in America when every major toolmaker and brand crafted full-page ads specifically speaking to schools and those deciding just how to equip these shops. Walker-Turner, DeWalt, Delta, every name you know — you'll find their advertising hard at work.
Imagine a time in America when schools still even had such shops — when vocational arts mattered so much that it had its own rich, thriving publication to share all that's happening in schools across the country.
— David
Here's a link to the issue where all these photos were found (and there's an entire archive of others) — Industrial Arts & Vocational Education — 1953-03: Vol 42 Issue 3
