THE Chipping Campden-based Robert Welch Designs is to create a metre-long replica of its Campden toast rack for the major new exhibition Britain in the Fifties: Design and Aspiration at a Warwickshire art gallery.

The exhibition will see the giant toast rack perched on top of a stand replicating its original 1956 packaging, and positioned in the atrium to greet visitors as they arrive at the the Compton Verney art gallery.

Britain in the Fifties explores the history of post-war design through the experiences of the average British couple. The 1950s was a time when Britain, emerging from years of austerity and rationing, led the world in the quality and innovation of its decorative and applied arts, and when good design became affordable for all.

The exhibition looks at all aspects of 1950s design, both inside and outside the home: Robert Welch’s original Campden range of products will be displayed alongside Lucienne Day’s furnishing fabrics, Horrocks’s dresses, Ken Wood’s Kenwood Chef and Alec Issigonis’s Mini, in an examination of design in Britain sixty years ago.

Robert Welch’s toast rack design is symbolic of the design innovation of the era, and to mark its 60th anniversary this year, the award-winning product has been reproduced as a limited edition.

Crafted from Sheffield stainless steel, the toast rack (£40) will be sold in the Compton Verney shop alongside a range of modern breakfast homeware products from Robert Welch Designs.

Robert Welch was one of the best known designers of the 20th century, whose designs for cutlery and other household items have become enduring classics.

Britain in the Fifties runs from Saturday, July 9, to Sunday, October 2.