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Sebring Ohio Historical Society
| 126 North 15th Street Sebring, Ohio 44672 330-938-6920 |
| Viktor Schreckengost (June 26, 1906 – January 26, 2008) was the father of industrial design and creator of the Jazz Bowl, an example of Jazz Age art designed for Eleanor Roosevelt during his association with Cowan Pottery. He is the creator of the largest freestanding ceramic sculpture in the world, Early Settler, on permanent display at Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Ohio. He also designed dinnerware. Eschewing the fancy, flowery French designs that were popular in the United States during the Great Depression, Schreckengost created simple modern designs that were popular throughout the country. He designed bicycles manufactured by Murray bicycles for Murray and Sears, Roebuck and Company (which took their total yearly sales from one million to four hundred million dollars)as well as other fancy pedal toys. He designed the first cab over engine with engineer Ray Spiller. This design is used in almost every city bus today. Schreckengost's peers included designers Raymond Loewy, Norman Bel Geddes, Eva Zeisel, and Russell Wright. Schreckengost, whose influence ranks with theirs according to scholars, had a quieter and more low-profile career in Cleveland. His designs included trucks, airplanes, bicycles, furniture, industrial equipment and dinnerware. |
| Schreckengost was one of six children. His father worked at a ceramics factory from |