Salon des Arts Ménagers
Poster for the 1924 Salon des Appareils Ménagers
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| Abbreviation | SAM |
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| Formation | 1923 |
| Extinction | 1983 |
| Type | Annual exhibition |
| Legal status | Defunct |
| Purpose | Display new home appliances and furniture |
| Location |
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Official language
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French |
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Main organ
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L’Art Ménager |
The Salon des arts ménagers (SAM; Household Arts Show) was an annual exhibition in Paris of domestic appliances, furniture and home designs. It was first held as the Salon des appareils ménagers (Home Appliances Fair) in 1923, with 100,000 visitors. By the 1950s each exhibition attracted up to 1.4 million visitors.
The SAM was run by government agencies and served an educational purpose, introducing consumers to new types of appliance and new materials. It also provided a showplace for new commercial products. The exhibition introduced modern concepts of home layout, with the kitchen moved from the back of the apartment to a central position near the entrance and near the dining and living room(s). Ergonomically designed kitchens and labor-saving devices minimized the effort required of housewives. The Salon became less relevant as department stores and specialty outlets began to offer broader ranges of products. The last exhibition was held in 1983.
The Salon was created by Jules-Louis Breton, who had been Undersecretary of State for Inventions during World War I (1914–18) and then Minister of Health and Social Welfare. He was the first director of the National Board of Scientific and Industrial Research and Inventions (ORNI: Office national des recherches scientifiques et industrielles et des Inventions), created on 29 December 1922 and dissolved on 24 May 1938, predecessor of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). The show was financed and supervised by the ORNI, and then from 1938 by the CNRS, which received the profits. Breton's son Paul was commissaire of the Salon from 1929 to 1976, and Paul's brother André was director of the Arts Ménagers publication.
The first Salon des Appareils Ménagers (Home Appliances Fair) was held between 18 October 1923 and 4 November 1923 in 5,000 square metres (54,000 sq ft) of the Foire de Paris on the Champ de Mars. The first show was held in a simple hut. The show gave prizes and medals to the inventors of the best domestic appliances, judged by ORNI and the Ministry of Public Education. The show was a great success, with 100,000 visitors and 200 exhibitors. The second Salon des Appareils Ménagers was held on the Champ de Mars on 21 October 1924 – 9 November 1924. There was no Salon in 1925, but the government decided that year to make the show an annual event.
In 1926 the SAM was held in the Grand Palais on the Champs-Élysées, now called the Salon des Arts Ménagers (SAM; Domestic Arts Show), again showing domestic appliances but now also showing products and materials needed for their installation and organization in the house. The SAM would remain at the Grand Palais until 1961. The 1926 show had 145,600 visitors and 328 exhibitors. The SAM began to be involved in experiments with new architecture. In 1927 an official monthly magazine was launched, L’Art Ménager. An annual reader's competition was organized to select the "most beautiful cover". Prizes were given at the show for a cooking competition and for the best housekeeper. There were more competitions in the Salons that followed, and more activities associated with the show including cooking lessons, concerts and conferences on furniture and decoration.
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