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FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS, first as a partner in the design firm Cambridge Seven, and then as a partner at Chermayeff and Geismar, Tom Geismar has made a distinct imprint on the design world. He has created logos and corporate identity strategies for such companies as Mobil and Viacom, and produced signage and identification programs for public transportation systems, communications companies and countless museums. He has also designed exhibits and environments, including the Ellis Island Museum, the Kennedy Memorial Library and, most recently, the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans.
In between all of these accomplishments, Geismar has also managed to indulge his passion for collecting toys that appeal to his aesthetic sensibility. While his home is filled with everything from a plastic Grover doll to a 19th century wind-up woman, the bulk of Geismar's collection is made up of toy robots. I. D. visited Geismar at his Manhattan apartment to talk to him about the robots he's been collecting for more than 20 years.
I. D.: Let's start with the obvious: How did you start collecting robots?
Tom Geismar: I don't think I'm a true collector in that I don't get involved in what things are and what condition they're in. Collectors will pay thousands of dollars for some of the robots I collect-either because they're scarce or in perfect condition, or because they're still in their original box, which doubles the value. I've never paid more than a hundred dollars for a robot, and most of them-hundreds and hundreds-are sitting in boxes in various places. I have a whole steel cabinet full of them in the attic in my country house. I guess I should have a plan for them, but I don't.