John Edwards Gloag [commonly known as John Gloag] was born in London, England on 10 August 1896. He studied architecture at Regent Street Polytechnic in London (1911-13) and then worked as an interior architect at the Thornton-Smith Ltd, studio (1913-16) before serving in the Army (1916-19) during World War One. In 1918 he was gassed and invalided home.
In 1919 he studied design in relation to advertising. Two years later he was appointed technical and art editor of the 'Cabinet Maker' and, in 1927, editor of the magazine. He was also editor of the Year-Books of the Design and Industries Association (1922-27). In 1927 Gloag was appointed Director of Design of the London-based advertising agency F.C. Pritchard Wood & Partners, a post he held until the 1950s. In 1936 he was made Public Relations Director of the Timber Development Association and in 1937 an Honorary Associate of the Royal Institute if British Architects (Hon.ARIBA).
A prolific writer, Gloag was the author of several books on architecture and design including 'Simple Furnishings and Arrangement' (with Helen Gloag, 1921), 'Simple Schemes for Decoration' (1922), 'British Furniture Makers' (1922), 'The House We Ought to Live In' (with Leslie Mansfield, 1923), 'Colour and Comfort' (1924), 'Time, Taste and Furniture' (1925), 'Home Life in History' (1927), 'Artifex or the Future of Craftsmanship' (1927), 'Men and Buildings' (1931), 'English Furniture' (1934), 'Industrial Art Explained' (1934), 'The Englishman's Castle' (1944), 'The Missing Technician in Industrial Production' (1944), 'Plastics and Industrial Design' (1945), 'British Furniture Makers' (1946), 'The English Tradition in Design' (1946), 'House out of Factory' (with Grey Wornum, 1946), 'Self Training for Industrial Designers' (1947), 'A History of Cast Iron in Architecture' (with Derek Bridgwater, 1948), 'A Short Dictionary of Furniture' (1952), 'Georgian Grace: a Social History of Design 1660-1830' (1956), 'Guide to Western Architecture' (1958), 'Advertising in Modern Life' (1959), 'A Social History of Furniture from B.C. 1300 to A.D. 1960' (1960), 'Victorian Taste: Some Social Aspects of Architecture and Industrial Design 1820-1900' (1962), 'The Englishman's Chair: Origins, Design and Social History of Seat Furniture in England' (1964) 'Mr Loudon's London' (1970), and 'The Architectural Interpretation of History' (1977). He also wrote more than 20 works of fiction, including science fiction novels.
Gloag was one of the first to suggest the staging of a Festival of Britain in 1951. In a letter which appeared in 'The Times' of 7 September 1945, he wrote: "Sir,- In six years we shall celebrate the anniversary of the first occasion when the British Empire displayed to the world the results of its industrial enterprise. Could we not now begin to plan a Great Exhibition for 1951? By that time the period of shortages should be over, and we could show, for the benefit of our trade and national prestige, our new mastery of industrial art. The next six years afford a great opportunity for our designers and manufacturers to be inventive, and for our statesmen to be far-sighted. Is it too early to begin making plans now for 1951?"
Gloag lived for a number of years in East Sheen, south west London. He died in London on 17 July 1981.