Karl Koehler

• Born 1913 · Died 2000

Karl Koehler was born in Hennepin County, Minnesota. When he was fourteen, his father died and the family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He trained at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia, and by 1940 was employed at the Pictograph Corporation in New York City. Working under Rudolf Modley, Koehler designed pictorial symbols used in business, corporate, and government publications to represent statistical data. During World War II, Koehler directed artwork for military training manuals. In 1942, he co-created two award-winning posters for the National War Poster Competition. He returned to Pennsylvania after the war, settling in Coopersburg, and began designing Christmas cards and holiday decorations. His cards and decorations were pop-up, three-dimensional designs unique for their time. Koehler trademarked the name "Mantelpiece" for his designs and applied for a patent for a collapsible and expandable pyramid structure design for the cards, calendars, advertising novelties, and displays in the late 1950s. In 1961, the last printed mention of his Christmas card production appeared and Koehler traveled to Ireland to help create an industrial design course at that country's National School of Art.