Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Product ID: 424601604
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The ultimate collector’s resource, including hundreds of pieces by both well- and lesser-known designers from around the world. From armchairs and chaises lounges to cabinets and nightstands, the period between the late 1930s and early 1970s was one of the most productive, inventive, and exciting eras for objects and furniture in the home. Following 1945, when postwar optimism combined with new manufacturing methods and material techniques, there was an explosion of design innovation and demand for goods. The appetite for mid-century modern remains as strong as ever, both for classic designs―many still in production since they were launched―and for rare, hard-to-find pieces from lesser-known designers. While numerous books surveying mid-century modern style have appeared over the years, this volume is specifically for the increasing collector’s market in mid-century modern design, focusing on each piece of furniture as an object of formal invention, manufacturing intelligence, and material innovation. Overflowing with vibrant color photography, Mid-Century Modern Furniture profiles hundreds of pieces and is a perfect reference in design libraries, studios, andthe homes of private collectors―or as an object of design in its own right. Each item of furniture is presented in detail: illuminated with vibrant illustrations and profiled via in-depth descriptive texts by design writer Dominic Bradbury. The book’s substantial reference section includes essays on materials and a directory of designers. Work by a host of influential talents is profiled throughout, alongside lesser-known pieces by Piet Hein, Bruno Mathsson, Lina Bo Bardi, and Alexander Girard. 450 illustrations Review: Best coffee table book - Bought this for my boyfriend for Christmas! He absolutely loved it and it’s an amazing coffee table book. Review: Beautiful, extensive tome - Beautiful, extensive tome
| Best Sellers Rank | #168,665 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #39 in Furniture Design (Books) #106 in Architectural History #341 in Interior Design |
| Customer Reviews | 5.0 out of 5 stars 31 Reviews |
A**A
Best coffee table book
Bought this for my boyfriend for Christmas! He absolutely loved it and it’s an amazing coffee table book.
P**R
Beautiful, extensive tome
Beautiful, extensive tome
R**N
The mid-century look
As the last century's 'mid-century' fades into history it increases the interest in past creativity and anyone curious about furniture design during those years will enjoy this book's comprehensive look at the subject. The eight main chapters (chairs; chaises longues; stools, sofas, tables, consoles and credenzas; desks and storage; beds) are further divided into sections, for example, Tables look at dining tables, coffee tables and occasional tables. About the only free-standing piece of furniture missing are wardrobes. The longest chapter (Chairs with 106 pages) shows just how creative designers can be with a seating unit. Eero Aarnio's 1966 ball chair looks incredibly comfortable which probably doesn't quite apply to Poul Kjaerholm's 1952 PKO chair, despite its clever design. The Tables chapter shows how designers created original products with something that is just a flat surface and four legs, though sometimes just one leg. Cini Boeri's 1972 Lunario table is a circular piece of thick glass resting on a single offset round steel base. Isamu Noguchi 1944 model IN-50 coffee table is here and Yves Klein's 1961 Table Blue, a Plexiglass oblong case partially filled with blue pigment. The Desks and storage chapter had some interesting examples of office furniture, that chapter's intro essay reveals that companies became interested in well-designed furniture for their office staff and especially executive desks. A really impressive thing about the book is the high-quality photos (over 450). They have all come from the Wright 20 auction house and were photographed on a white background so there is a uniform look to all the furniture throughout the pages. Each piece is one to a page with a technical caption and a hundred words or so about the designer and the product. The back pages have an index, directory of designers and a spread each about wood, plywood, plastics and steel (I would have expected to see these eight pages in the front pages). The author has written what will probably become the standard reference title for mid-century modern furniture. You can look inside the book at Westread Book Reviews then click 2022 and October.
D**Y
Beautiful book on mid-century furniture
Well written and illustrated, comprehensive.
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