Thus Sprach Zarathustra! This plush, vintage boomerang atomic hot seat remains a perfect throne for today's Barbarellas and Captain Kirks. Original vinyl fabric and piping with Sputnik legs. Lust in space.

Italian art pottery was an exotic accent to the mid-century home of any globe-trotting American suburbanite (or La-Z-Boy traveler). Lava glazed with wheel pinstriping.

Beautifully hand painted and sponge textured ceramic dish in gold, avocado, earth and terra cotta colored glazes. Unique and one-of-a-kind platter by artist, Kay.

Plugged in! The thoroughly modern mid-century hostess-with-the-mostest would keep her tuna casserole toasty via the wonder of electricity. This vintage 50s trivet will score bonus points at your next potluck dinner.

Sunny end chairs show! Swept back to the swinging sexties, these plush loungers on aluminium frames were tailor made for belled bottoms and wide lapels. A perfect pairing for your retro pad cocktail habitat.

Zithermania! Nothing quite says mid-century like a zither on the Hit Parade. This ultra rare 45 of the Third Man Theme is signed by recording artist and "Zithervirtuose" Hans Zischer of Nürnberg. An essential artifact brought home from post-war Germany that swept American modernists off their feet (40 million versions of this intrumental sold!). Flip side features his own Polka.

Wired! Elegant curves, stripes and polka dots make a perfect frame for your subscription to Atomic Ranch or your vintage collection of Look, Life and Esquire.

Yes surreal! Red earthenware vase, with textural, high-relief impressed teardrop motif and foamy white lava glaze.

Core reactor! This smashing atom hot plate is the perfect thermal insulator for your chain-reaction chili or fusion fondue pot.

Dynamic Duo! Matched pair of outstanding mid-century designed candleabras for your teak credenza or Wegner dining table.

Che bello! Superb, colorful mid-century Italian art pottery. Elegant leaf or tree shape.

In Orbit! Quintessential mid-century Danish modern teak candleabras. Set of two.

Wired for sounds! What better way to showcase your zither 45s or Martin Denny Hi-Fi collection than with this ultra-modern gold record rack?

Come on, baby, light my fire! Gorgeous, flamed-glazed artsy-craftsy pot. Organic tri-form shape. Hot, lust-have mid-century objet.

Oval team! A dynamic duo of matched Kenwood "Shawnee" confetti-glazed candle holders in stark black and white confetti glaze. Deco meets mid-century.

Our World Unfolding! What better map to hang above your modernist desk than this revolutionary mid-century world view from the mind of a 20th century visionary. A reprinting of the 1954 Raleigh Edition of the Dymaxion Airocean World by the Buckminster Fuller Institute in Los Angeles. The Dymaxion map is the least-distorted 2D map of the globe ever created and so unique that it was granted its own patent.

Chuck wagon wonders! Nothing quite says "mid-century" design like this essential set of Denmark-does-Dallas backyard barbecue tools. Salt, pepper and sauce brush on extended steel handles to keep Dad safe from the flames and ahead of the Joneses next door. Old Spice alert: remember when rawhide was the Corinthian leather of its day?

Volcanic! Treasure Craft classic. If the goddess Pele lived in a trailer park in Southern California in 1962, this is what she'd have on her end table. A beautiful example of mass-produced California decorative exuberance that helped spread American snack culture around the mid-century landscape.

Salad daze! An elegant mid-century design classic by American Tempo.

Palm Spring's iconic 1959 City National Bank (currently Bank of America) by Victor Gruen Associates, inspired by Le Corbusier's chapel in Ronchamp, France. Image by American artist John Goss, from his exhibition Desert Mod.

West Coast Cool! On the heels of Miles Davis' style-defining release Birth of the Cool, Shorty Rogers & His Giants chimed in with this important cool jazz recording. Modern Sounds' seminal recordings include a 1951 set by Rogers and future west coast stars like Art Pepper, Chet Baker, Jimmy Giuffre, Hampton Hawes, and Shelley Manne, among others. Each soloist gets plenty of room to stretch out on a set including four Rogers originals; Pepper particularly shines on a rendition of "Over the Rainbow."

Take me to your leader. Each plate has a central cup holder surrounded by a ring for treats. perfect munchie vehicle for your next viewing of Earth Versus the Flying Saucers.

A fleeting moment in the Men's Room of Palm Spring's iconic 1963 Tramway Gas Station (currently the Palm Springs Visitors Center) by Albert Frey and Robson Chambers. Image by American artist John Goss, from his exhibition Desert Mod.

Handsome and whimsical hand-painted dish by mid-century potter, Sascha Brastoff, who was also famous for his comic drag impression of Carmen Miranda.

Oh, Tannenbaum! The perfect gift for Santa to leave under your Christmas Pollock. These drippy, splattery candy dishes look edible even when empty. Very mid-century craft project.

En Garde! Demand satisfaction at your next backyard barbeque duel with this set of six spikey steak skewers. Mid-century made in Japan.

High Tiki! "Charming and influential plastic bamboo exotica (Martin Denny would cover five of these tunes for his own influential Exotica LP six years later). The 1951 sleeve notes tout this as a "tone poem of the sound and struggle of the jungle", but Baxter's orchestra - enough strings and brass to overflow the Nile - are pure Hollywood. It's lush and romantic, and often hopped up on Latin rhythms."

Heavy Metal! No mid-century home would be complete without a mod, metal sculpture hanging above the fireplace. This colossal example from the school of Curtis Jere is a superbly abstracted take on a Hollywood Bowl type orchestral setting, in a variety of handcrafted and colored metals.

SOLD

Out of this world! It doesn't get more Jetsonian than this space age mid-century masterpiece. Machined, brushed stainless steel is flawlessly combined with elegant hand-detailing (check out the gently concave ergonomic thumb grips). Take me to your leader, or at least to your next pot luck.