Raymond Loewy was born in Paris, France in 1893. He is considered by many to be the originator of the industrial design profession. He studied engineering and physics in Paris. He arrived in New York in 1919 and became a U.S. citizen in 1938. He redesigned the Gestetner duplicating machine in 1929. Raymond Loewy Associates was established the same year. He streamlined the S1 locomotive for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and transformed the image of the American bus for Greyhound. He designed the Electrolux cylinder vacuum cleaner in 1939 and the post-war Studebaker in 1945. In 1962 he created the Avanti. "Never Leave Well Enough Alone" was published in 1951.

Shown at left is an original First Edition of Never Leave Well Enough Alone published by Simon & Schuster, New York, in 1951. The image shows the damaged book jacket autographed by Loewy. The inscription reads: "The personal record of an industrial designer from lipsticks to locomotives." "The details in this book are amazing … This book serves well to teach how the designs of everyday objects can have an effect on their usefulness, attrativeness, and even potential sales for businesses." – Paul Regna, Avanti Magazine. Below, left is the reissue of the book published in 2002.