1950s Black & Decker Deluxe Fixkit Instructions

This drill toolkit was a part of Black & Decker's successful handheld “Electric Home-Utility Tools” line in the early 1950s. 

This model was manufactured approximately between 1950-1955. In 1946, Black & Decker launched the first portable electric drill, albeit in a more bulky toolkit than displayed here. In a sense, this line of home utility products made the DIY movement possible. Not long after this, in 1961, they pushed the bar further by introducing the world's first cordless electric drill. 

These instructions display a recognizably 1950s typographic design, prominent orange coloring, and an illustration for the industrial design of their “world famous” electric drill, completely made of metal. The chosen type is a mix of blocky script and bold sans serifs. On the back, the product information is divided into a 3-column grid. 

The goal of the graphic designers was for this slip to double as a self-advertisement and an instruction manual; when the toolbox was opened to display the contents inside, the front of the ad could sell-itself in the store window.

The demographic for this product was for homeowners, and they sold attachments for the drill for sanding, polishing, grinding, buffing, and surprisingly, even woodcutting.