Italian Modular Rosewood Bookcase Wall Unit by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno
About the Item
- Creator:Tecno (Manufacturer),Osvaldo Borsani (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 108.63 in (275.93 cm)Width: 139.75 in (354.97 cm)Depth: 14 in (35.56 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:ca. 1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Gold aluminum rails and black steel brackets/hardware are all original; rosewood has been refinished and is in very good condition with only light, age-commensurate wear.
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:
Osvaldo Borsani
With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, Osvaldo Borsani helped change the face of Italian design in the 1950s and ’60s. His sofas and chairs, featuring deeply upholstered seating and adjustable position settings, have an aura of optimism and efficiency that still seems fresh and lively today.
Born in the commune of Varedo in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, Borsani studied at the Brera Academy in Milan — the same school attended by such luminaries as designer Piero Fornasetti and artist Lucio Fontana — as well as the Polytechnic University of Milan. Borsani first worked for his father’s furniture-making firm, Arredamenti Borsani, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design.
By 1953, when, along with his twin brother, Fulgenzio — the pair also created this visionary mid-century villa — Borsani opened the furniture company Tecno, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair. Borsani would be the firm’s lead designer for 30 years, while fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De Carli, Robin Day and others.
Similar to Gio Ponti in the earliest years of his career, Borsani first created designs marked by lush and buoyant lines: tables with voluptuous curved legs, sofas with undulating backrests.
But Borsani’s best-known and most novel pieces date from Tecno’s initial furniture lines: the adjustable D70 sofa, which folds open to make a daybed, and the P40 recliner. The latter — now included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum — is an articulated lounger with a back, seat and leg rest that can be moved into 486 different positions. Not only is it extremely comfortable, it is also enduringly chic.
Find a collection of vintage Osvaldo Borsani tables, dining chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Tecno
From his early start at his father’s boutique furniture and cabinetry atelier — Arredamenti Borsani (ABV) — Italian designer Osvaldo Borsani began to steadily dream to life the movement-inducing pieces that would eventually lead to him founding his innovative furniture company, Tecno, with his twin brother, Fulgenzio.
Born in the commune of Varedo in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, Borsani studied at the Brera Academy in Milan — the same school attended by such luminaries as designer Piero Fornasetti and artist Lucio Fontana — as well as the Polytechnic University of Milan. He first worked for the family furniture-making firm, ABV, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design. Borsani took over Arredamenti Borsani in 1937.
With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, Borsani helped change the face of Italian design in the 1950s and ’60s. His sofas and chairs, featuring deeply upholstered seating and adjustable position settings, have an aura of optimism and efficiency that still seems fresh and lively today.
While he is today recognized as a master of mid-century modernist Italian furniture, Borsani is most famous these days for cofounding Tecno. (He and Fulgenzio also created Villa Borsani, a visionary mid-century estate cherished for its modern lines and exquisite custom furnishings.)
When Borsani opened Tecno, an office-focused maker of industrial design, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair.
When they were originally released, Tecno pieces like the P40 and the award-winning D70 sofa bed were acclaimed as cutting-edge, and they are still considered groundbreaking in their adaptability and functionality. The firm quickly garnered widespread acclaim for its tech-forward designs and quality craftsmanship.
Borsani would be Tecno’s lead designer for 30 years, while partnering on projects with the likes of architect Eugenio Gerli and fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De Carli, Robin Day and others.
Borsani designed pieces for Tecno until shortly before his death in 1985, when his daughter Valeria and her husband, Marco Fantoni, took over the creative work.
Today, the family’s legacy is preserved by Borsani’s architect grandson Tommaso Fantoni, who, along with Norman Foster, curated a blockbuster retrospective of Osvaldo Borsani’s work at Milan’s Triennale Design Museum in 2018.
Find vintage Tecno chairs, tables, desks and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Brooklyn, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Osvaldo Borsani Modular Rosewood Bookcase Wall Unit with Removable PanelsBy Osvaldo Borsani, TecnoLocated in Brooklyn, NYLarge modular rosewood bookcase/wall unit by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno (ca. 1960, Italy). Composed of six gold aluminum uprights forming five bays/sections with the five original, re...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
MaterialsMetal, Aluminum, Steel
- Italian Modern Rosewood Wall Unit/Bookcase by Gianfranco Frattini for BerniniBy Gianfranco Frattini, BerniniLocated in Brooklyn, NYModel 540 modular bookcase designed by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini (ca. 1960s, Italy). Uncommon rosewood example composed of four vertical slatted-rails creating three bays inclu...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsMetal, Aluminum
- Large Czechoslovakian Modernist Oak and Walnut Freestanding Wall Unit by JitonaLocated in Brooklyn, NYVersatile freestanding wall-unit/bookcase in oak, walnut, and pine with aluminum, steel, and brass accents by Jitona (1968, Lomnice nad Lužnicí, Czechoslovakia). Five bays can be assembled in total if all pieces are utilized together - seven pine rails, three long shelves, three long cabinets (including one that is half drawers/half open storage), three long glass fronted cabinets, two shorter cabinets, three shorter glass fronted cabinets, and one drop-down cabinet/bar with glass shelves. All cabinet shelves are removable, though not adjustable. Feet for the cabinets and rails are all adjustable, and the disks on the rails offer stability and protection to both floors and ceilings when adjustments are made. The longer pieces displayed as the three bay unit are all 35.25" long, while the shorter pieces displayed as the two bay unit are all 29.5" L. The configuration options for this highly functional unit are limitless. The bar cabinet, five-drawer walnut chest, glass-fronted cabinets, door-fronted cabinets, and two shelves can be custom-assembled based on requirements/aesthetic preference; the shorter pieces just need to be arranged within the same two bays. The legs for all cabinets can be removed, though, depending on the heft of the items displayed/stored, wall-mounting might be required if the weight is too great for the rails alone to adequately support. The 29.38" high cabinets with legs (if using the legs) must be arranged at the bottom, leaving 64.75" of usable rail height for mounting the other pieces. There are some fleabites to the glass (mostly to the edges concealed by the wooden frame when closed) along with light wear the wood consistent with age/use. Conservatively restored and in very fine, vintage condition. Assembled as a 5-bay unit as shown in the fifth image: Measures: H: 105.38" x L: 171" x D: 16". Assembled as a 3-bay unit with the longer pieces: H: 105.38" x L: 109.63" x D: 16" Assembled as a 2-bay until with the shorter pieces: H: 105.38" x L: 62" x D: 15.63" Each piece of the 3-bay system's measurements - * Two cabinets with doors: Exterior - H: 29.38" (with legs) / 18.5" (without) x L: 35.25" x D: 15.75" / 16.75" (with pls) Interior - Height above the shelf: 7.25" / below 8.25" x L: 34" x D: (shelf) 13.25" / lower surface 14.25" * Drawers: Exterior - H: 29.38" (with legs) / 18.5" (without) x L: 17.5" x D: 15.75" / 16.75" (with drawer pls) Interior (each drawer) - H: 2" x L: 15.38" x D: 13.25" * Small cabinet: Exterior - H: 29.38" (with legs) / 18.5" (without) x L: 17.5" x D: 15.75" / 16.75" (with pls) Interior - Height above the shelf: 8.25" / below 8.25" x L: 16" x D: 14.38" * Glass-fronted cabinets: Exterior - H: 24.5" x L: 35.25" x D: 9.75" Interior - Height above the shelf: 11" / below 11.5" x L: 34" x D: (shelf) 8" / lower surface 9" * Three shelves - H: 0.63" x L: 35.25" x D: 9.75" Each piece of the 2-bay system's interior measurements - * Two cabinets with doors: Exterior - H: 29.75" (with legs) / 18.63" (without) x L: 29.5" x D: 15.63" / 16.63" (with drawer pls) Interior - Height above the shelf: 8" / below 8.5" x L: 28" x D: (shelf) 13.13" / lower surface 14.38" * Glass-fronted cabinets: Exterior - H: 24.25" x L: 29.5" x D: 10" Interior - Height above the shelf: 11.13" / below 11.25" x L: 28" x D: (shelf) 7.75" / lower surface 8.13" * Bar cabinet: Exterior - H: 18.25" x L: 29.5" x D: 10" / 25.88" (when open) Interior - Height (excluding shelves): 16.88" x L: (left side) 9" / (right side) 18.5" x D: 7.75" (shelf) Rails alone: H: 105.38" (the height can be adjusted via a rail extender to, which will be included, and can be increased to 108") x L: 0.88" x D: 5" Cabinet legs...Category
Vintage 1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
MaterialsAluminum, Brass, Steel
- Pair of Italian Free-Standing Wall Units in Walnut on Ebonized Plinth BasesLocated in Brooklyn, NYStylish freestanding wall units boasting bookmatched walnut veneer (ca. early 1970s, Italy). Each comes with a black vinyl seat (more for decoration than practical use). The first un...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsNaugahyde, Walnut, Plywood, Paint
- Danish Modern Teak and Rosewood Wall Unit Wall by Rud Thygesen & Johnny SørensenBy Rud Thygesen and Johnny Sorensen, Hansen & Guldborg MøblerLocated in Brooklyn, NYTwo-bay modular teak wall unit designed by Rud Thygesen and Johnny Sørensen for Hansen and Guldborg (Denmark, 1960s). Features the three original rosewood rails/uprights supporting t...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Shelves
MaterialsMetal
- Pair of Midcentury Painted Iron Arched EtageresBy Frederic WeinbergLocated in Brooklyn, NYPair of 1960s arched shelving units / book shelves / etageres composed of white wrought iron frames with inset glass shelves (four / unit). 'Ball' feet...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsWrought Iron
- Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno White Wall UnitBy Osvaldo Borsani, TecnoLocated in Waalwijk, NLOsvaldo Borsani for Tecno, wall-mounted wall unit, metal, white laminated wood, Italy, 1950s This wall mounted shelving system was designed by Osvaldo Borsani. Its purpose was a co...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsMetal
- Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno Wall Unit in WalnutBy Osvaldo Borsani, TecnoLocated in Waalwijk, NLOsvaldo Borsani for Tecno, wall unit 'E22', walnut, glass, polished steel, Italy, 1957 This wall-mounted shelving unit is designed by Osvaldo Borsani and is four sections large, wit...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsSteel
- Wall Bookcase E22 by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, 1960sBy Tecno, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Antwerp, BEWall Unit; Bookcase; E22; Osvaldo Borsani; Tecno; 1960s; Italian Design; Shelves; Writing Desk; Working Desk; Table; Writing Table; Wall Piece; Modular; Italian mid-century moder...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsMetal
- "E22" wooden bookcase by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, Italy, 1960sBy Tecno, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Argelato, BORare and extraordinary "E22" hanging bookcase designed by the great Italian designer Osvaldo Borsani (1911 - 1985) for Tecno, Italy, 1960s. The work bears the original Tecno sticker ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsMetal
- Osvaldo Borsani E22 Double Sided Freestanding Wall Unit for Tecno, Italy, 1950sBy Osvaldo Borsani, TecnoLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaThis double-sided freestanding E22 bookcase is a rare and peculiar example of Borsani's innovative design and the Tecno manufacturing expertise. Its construction of metal, wood, and ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsMetal
- Modular Sheving System "E22", Design Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, Italy, 1960By Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Napoli, ITBeautiful modular shelving system "E22" in rosewood designed by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno Italia, 1960 with bronze sculpture, on a module bar, by Arnaldo Pomodoro. Bibliography: -G...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Bookcases
MaterialsRosewood
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Mid-Century Master Osvaldo Borsani Gets His Due at Donzella
The New York City gallery has devoted its latest show to the work of the modernist Italian designer.
Peek inside Osvaldo Borsani’s Mod Italian Villa
The iconic mid-century estate outside of Milan opens its doors to the public for a very special homage.