Object Timeline
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1950 |
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1959 |
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2015 |
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2025 |
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Drag Box (USA), 1950–1959
This is a Drag box. It was designed by D.D. Tillett and Leslie Tillett. It is dated 1950–1959 and we acquired it in 2015. Its medium is plastic, duct tape, ink. It is a part of the Textiles department.
The drag box, which is integral to the creation of many Tillett designs, was originally invented by Leslie’s father, George Tillett, in 1942 or 43. The elder Tillett lined up the boxes on a tilting carriage to create a striping machine, as continuous vertical stripes could not be printed using the flatbed screen-printing process. Leslie began experimenting with a loose box, which enabled him to do many other things besides simple stripes: color bands could be overlapped to create darker stripes of various widths, or the lines could be curving or horizontal.
The drag box is a simple rectangle of Lucite which contains the color. The ink is released through a narrow open slot at one end, and is cleaned off by a blade just above the slot. The angle and speed at which the box is pulled across the surface determines the amount of ink released.
This object was
donated by
Nicole Rauscher and Seth Tillett.
It is credited Gift of Seth Tillett and Nicole Rauscher.
Its dimensions are
H x W x D: 8.3 × 15.9 × 34.3 cm (3 1/4 × 6 1/4 × 13 1/2 in.)
Cite this object as
Drag Box (USA), 1950–1959; Designed by D.D. Tillett (American, 1917 - 2008), Leslie Tillett (American, b. England, 1915 - 1992); plastic, duct tape, ink; H x W x D: 8.3 × 15.9 × 34.3 cm (3 1/4 × 6 1/4 × 13 1/2 in.); Gift of Seth Tillett and Nicole Rauscher; 2015-16-15
