Plywood Geodesic Dome

Folding child’s chair composed of three pieces of cut plywood, a canvas sling, and steel pins. The frame pivots open and closed via the pins and a groove cut into the plywood seat. American, circa 1950, in an organic design idiom in the manner of Norman Cherner or Arthur Collani, both of whom provided blueprints for DIY projects. As with analogous Shaker furniture...

Three-legged "Modern" chair in cut Douglas Fir plywood. A home construction project, based on a pattern by Arthur Collani, whose designs appeared in Home Craftsman Magazine in the early 1950s. Readers were provided with schematic drawings, written instructions, and pictures of the finished product. This organic design chair...

First edition of Bernard Rudofsky’s idiosyncratic and iconoclastic discussion of modern living conditions in postwar America, published by Oxford University Press in 1955. 201 pages, 8vo, hardcover with pictorial dust jacket. Several black-and-white illustrations. Rudofsky (1905-1988), an Austrian/American architect, curator, critic, industrial designer, exhibition designer, fashion designer, and author is best-known for his controversial exhibitions and accompanying catalogs, including Are Clothes Modern? (MoMA, 1944), Architecture Without Architects (MoMA, 1964), and Now I Lay Me Down to Eat (Cooper-Hewitt, 1980). He is also famous for his mid-century Bernardo sandal designs, which are popular again today. Behind the Picture Window...

Important and lavishly produced survey of postwar California domestic architecture, written by Frank Lloyd Wright-trained California architect Herbert Weisskamp and published by Abrams in 1964. First edition, oblong 4to (10.25” x 7.25”) hardcover with pictorial dust jacket, 4 full color photos, 314 black-and-white photos (3/4 of them by Julius Schulman), plus 113 b/w plans, drawings, and elevations. Showcases the work of the following architects and landscape designers: Raphael Soriano, Pierre Koenig, Craig Ellwood, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mark Mills, Aaron Green...

Well-edited and lavishly illustrated survey of mid-century Italian ceramics, written by Hugo Blattler and published in Rome in 1958 by Aristide Palombi as part of the Arti Pratiche series, intended to contribute to an examination in depth of the material, as well as to the documentation and to the spreading of knowledge of each separate subject. Features vessels, lighting, fireplaces, and artworks by renowned artists such as Lucio Fontana, Salvatore Meli, Fauson Melotti, Gio Ponti, Antonia Campi, Marcello Fantoni, Franco Meneguzzo, Pietro Melandri, and Guido Gambone, along with a host of lesser-known figures. Stellar abstract designs throughout. Square 8vo (8.5” x 9”), 206 pages, hardcover, illustrated throughout in b/w. Slight lean to spine. Mild soiling to extremities, with chipping to corners. Professional repair to front hinge, as well as between pp. 194-5 and 204-5. Light chipping to first two leaves. The complete front cover remains of the dust jacket, which is still crisp and vibrant, with only minor chipping to top edge. Missing spine and back of dust jacket. A must-have for collectors and connoisseurs of Italian design and mid century ceramics.

Sumptuously produced treatment of the aesthetic and spiritual qualities of traditional Japanese architecture that resonated with and influenced Western modernism—think the simplicity and abstract beauty of tatami geometry combined with a holistic philosophy of indoor/outdoor living. The book itself is a cynosure of academic and graphic quality, with text by Walter Gropius and Kenzo Tange...

These leg splints were designed by Charles and Ray Eames and produced for the United States Navy by the Evans Products Company, molded plywood division. They're still in their origin...

A monumental Victorian taxidermy dome, measuring H. 90 cm, with a wide variety of Tropical birds, of which many male and female pairs Engla...

Late 19th century automaton of a monkey in 18th century style dress. Likely to be French, this piece shows all the hallmarks of J. Phalibois, one of the foremost makers of clockwork toys...

Unusual carved box with a dome top cover and one-drawer. Nice dried out light color.

Inspired by geometry, it is composed of 32 triangular pieces that together form a geodesic. Entirely assembled by hand and made of certified Brazilian wood, it has non-toxic finish ...

Magnificent and rare automaton pianist doll under a globe made by automaton repairer and manufacturer Jean Farkas in the 1950s. The doll plays a serenade of Haydens by Mozart, its ...