WHEN
TIMELINE:
A Brief History of the Un-Gyve Limited Group
1900s
Nemrow Brothers, Inc., Est. 1912, is New England’s largest tobacco distribution company. Russian born Henry Nemrow is among private donors to assist in the foundation of Father Flanagan’s Boys Town; and establishes local homes in Boston for Jewish and Black orphans. He is benefactor and contributor to the Christian Science Monitor, the focus of his writings his philanthropic concerns, civil and human rights, religious freedom, social justice, and related matters of politics. His interests expand to subscription publishing, as patron and producer and distributor of canvassing books and outfits. Henry Nemrow, Inc., Est. 1941, continues publishing distribution catalogues conceived by Henry Nemrow with editorial content around the various dry-goods, grocery items, tobacco, and dairy and produce from the Nemrow family farms.
Sicilian born Mario Scardino is New England’s leading independent bootlegger, operating stills throughout the Boston area, supplying and distributing for the Kennedy family, and running a Boston speakeasy. After prohibition he takes over the old Del Rio restaurant and opens the famed Red Carpet in Quincy with Geraldine DiBona Scardino.
In 1909 Mr. Edmund Brown incorporated his first publishing company, in Boston, The Four Seas, predecessor of the imprint under which Un-Gyve's founders cut their teeth (acquisitions, editing, design, typesetting, publicity and distribution). With the advent of the Depression, Mr. Brown subsequently incorporated Bruce Humphries. William Faulkner's first book is published by The Four Seas in 1924 (Un-Gyve's Mario Scardino Motion & Sound Productions is developing Faulkner's As I Lay Dying for film). Four Seas had accepted Faulkner's collection of poems, upon his writing to them in June of 1923 with a manuscript entitled Orpheus, and Other Poems some of which may have been revised from earlier versions in Visions in Spring, Faulkner's typed, eighty-eight-page booklet he'd hand bound in 1921. Faulkner declined the offer to publish this manuscript, under The Four Seas proposed royalty arrangement, because he could not afford to fund the manufacturing according to the standard agreement. Faulkner's benefactor Phil Stone (familiar with the press through other books of poetry published under the imprint including Sour Grapes, 1922, by William Carlos Williams, and Richard Aldington's Images Old and New, 1916) assisted in contracting the publication of a different set of poems from the originally submitted manuscript. Five-hundred copies of this first book, The Marble Faun, are printed, most of these soon remaindered.
1950s
Henry Nemrow, Inc., under Daisy Hannington Nemrow, increases distribution to a variety of products including residential furniture, jewelry, and the Hannington clothing line, expanding upon its reputation as one of the first trusted and widely successful editorial mail order catalogue companies.
The Scardino family construction company completes numerous government contracts including highway construction, municipal parks, and complex demolition projects.
1960s
Henry Nemrow, Inc., expands its direct distribution with vending equipment, jukebox, billiards, pin-ball, food and beverage, and tobacco. Alan Nemrow and Dolores Scardino Nemrow develop the subsidiary Hub Vending Corporation.
The Nemrow and Scardino family extend their interests in the real estate, hospitality and entertainment arenas. Ceramica Dolomite is founded by family in Italy’s mountain region. Esquire magazine publishes "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" in April 1966, Gay Talese's famous profile in which Dominic DiBona (the guitarist) is referred to as one of "his paisanos who are close to him" and "his wardrobe man".
1970s
Ol’ Blue Eyes is Back, Dominic DiBona works on his pal’s comeback concert in Hollywood; hospitality projects underway in Vegas; the inception of Domus Design + Development.
1980s
Veneto Collections is formed for the launch of Ceramica Dolomite in the United States with Boston headquarters and gallery with distribution network including existing channels for direct and wholesale delivery, and regional dealers, of art and industrial design products.
Zagara, designed by Marco Zanuso, is entered into the permanent collections of MoMA and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The design and marketing focus, which will ultimately formalize as Un-Gyve Limited, is heralded for bringing this Italian architectural influence, already at the forefront of other industrial design sectors — from automobiles and furniture to telephones and typewriters — into the realm of previously uninspired industries.
1990s
Ceramica Dolomite SpA is sold to Blue Circle Industries PLC in 1990; and in 1996 Bis Bis is incorporated for product R&D, marketing and distribution, and the Bis Bis brand is launched. Un-Gyve Limited, formed in 1995 for design services and multimedia production with a diverse contract team ranging from Grammy nominated musicians to Design Plus winning architects, is contracted to market the brands. Un-Gyve publishes art, architectural and design monographs and catalogues of the works of Zanuso, Luigi Molinis, and others.
Chicago premiere of DU: Disegno Universale: the touring museum exhibit, sponsored by Bis Bis and presented by the Un-Gyve Limited Group, at The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design. The event is the subject of feature articles and interviews in European and North American editorial publications; and the introduction of the Bis Bis mobili e.e. line of furniture at DU 1998 is covered by The New York Times.
Opening of the Isole Gallery of Art + Industrial Design in Boston.
2000
Chicago, DU 2000: Disegno Universale: at the AEC Gallery in association with the John David Mooney Foundation, opens again with international coverage. The event is the subject of multiple cover stories; art and design introduced is featured in a number of trade and consumer publications.
2001
ARCOS: Wilfredo Chiesa exhibit at the Isole Gallery of Art + Industrial Design. Bis Bis is featured in Muebles de Casa, by Francisco Asensio Cerver, published by Atrium: Mexico, New York, Barcelona: 639 pages.
2002
DU 2002: Disegno Universale: at the Isole Gallery of Art + Industrial Design.
2003
Bis Bis featured in minimalism & color: Patricia Bueno: Harper Design International: An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.
2004
Chicago, Bis Bis presents its art and architectural glasswork with sponsorship by the Italian Trade Commission; contracts include an array of public and private installations.
2005
Bis Bis furnishes the Riverfront Loft project in Pawtucket, with design services provided by Domus Design + Development.
2006
Bis Bis, Domus, and Isole make Construction Communication’s Shortlist for the award winning Riverfront Loft project.
TACTILE | MERCANTILE in two installations (Scene One and Scene Two), curated by Un-Gyve, a retrospective of works in colour by Judith Aronson at the Isole Gallery of Art + Industrial Design the catalogue in two books from Un-Gyve Press.
2007
Bis Bis exhibits at the Architectural Digest Show, New York City.
The NO Show: photography of Mark Chester at the Isole Gallery of Art + Industrial Design.
2008 - 2012
Un-Gyve is an eclectically emerging imprint publishing with integrity of substance, design, production, and presentation founded upon a century of family tradition.