BOXED SET OF STACKING ASHTRAYS BY ISAMU KENMOCHI (FIVE)

An original Stapel Ascher (Stack of Ashtrays)—a boxed set of five stacking ashtrays created in the 1960s by Japanese industrial designer Isamu Kenmochi and produced for the German market. Made of melamine enveloped in chromed steel, they were manufactured in a rainbow of period colors including black, forest green, cornflower blue, tangerine orange, and chartreuse, among others. This set bears a "PAT. PEND. 4018039" mark, identifying it as very early production. Later editions were made in the US by Trend Pacific, Inc, Los Angeles, Calif., under the name Maru, circle in Japanese. It is rare enough to find a full set in such excellent condition, but incredible to find them in their original lidded tube! (The dimensions below reference a single ashtray.) ISAMU KENMOCHI (剣持勇, 1912–1971) was a Japanese modernist designer significant in the development of Japanese industrial design after World War II. Isamu Kenmochi was born on January 2, 1912, in Tokyo, and graduated from the Tokyo College