eBaywatch: Italian Design and Deco Books
Category: Buy Secondhand
(Apologies for the wobbly scheduling. I concluded that this would be best to share on Sundays and include it in the end-of-the-weekend round up for maximum freshness.)
A slight bending of the rules this outing: not everything here is currently available on ebay. So save those searches and turn on notifications to get alerts for future listings.
I’ve also interpreted the theme loosely: some are books about Italian design, some are Italian books about design.
All are - or appear to be, there are a couple I’ve not seen in the flesh - great resources for information and inspiration for future purchases or Make it Yourself projects.
OK, let’s go:
Italy: The New Domestic Landscape, 1972
This was published to mark a major exhibition of Italian design at MoMA, New York. The cover has a clear plastic layer beneath which are a few cutouts of pieces of furniture from the exhibition. These float around freely inside the plastic layer. After over fifty years, this plastic layer is usually discoloured. This copy is no exception. Still, a fun book about a significant exhibition. Also, as these are over fifty years old, they don’t come cheap.
Even less affordable, here’s a poster for the same exhibition.
styles of Living: the best of casa vogue, isa Vercelloni, 1985
I think this is the English translation of the Italian original. This is not exclusively about Italian interiors but due, I imagine, to it being first published there, it features many gorgeous Italian pads to drool over.
There are a number available on ebay right now, although this one is the only one in the UK. It is certainly much better value than all the copies in the US. I love this book but I certainly didn’t pay the price being asked for the UK copy. It might be worth saving a search and taking your chances that cheaper ones will surface.
Il mobile in Italia, 1969
This is new to me as I just came across it. It appears to be the catalogue of the 1969 edition of a biannual exhibition of Italian furniture, including pages showcasing individual manufacturers. Interesting as a reminder that not all Italian design is timeless. Maspero looks very now but poor old Pianca? Much less so.
Il mobile Imbottito Moderno, 1972
A kind of companion piece to the MoMA book, also from 1972, this is an Italian look at European and US furniture. It appears to be in Italian. Interesting for the inclusion of some diagrams of the construction of some of the pieces covered.
ITALIAN FURNITURE DESign, albrecht bangert, 1988
I can’t remember where I picked this up - probably ebay - but there are none available right now so this is a saved search situation.
That said, here’s one on Abe Books. The seller, Marcus Campbell Art Books, is next door to Tate Modern so you could pop in on your next visit. I did just that yesterday and can recommend a visit. They have a huge range of out of print and deadstock titles for prices as low as £2.
FUTURISSIMO: L’Utopie du Design Italien, 2021
This isn’t on ebay right now either but should be relatively easy to pick up for a reasonable price. It’s the catalogue that accompanied a recent exhibition of Italian design at the Villa Noailles in France. It inclides a shot of the Twergi range from Alessi, the salt cellar was in last week’s eBaywatch.
It’s in both English and French and has a bunch of essays and accompanying photos around various subjects, themes and designers. If you were looking for an overview of 20th Century Italian design at an affordable price, this would be a good candidate.
That’s it. Happy hunting.
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