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In Praise of Architecture by Gio Ponti (1st American Edition)

$500
£371.22
€432.58
CA$694.16
A$776.46
CHF 404.08
MX$9,558.53
NOK 5,140.68
SEK 4,822.98
DKK 3,227.46
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About the Item

Meditations and observations on architecture and life by a transcendent figure in 20th century architecture and design. Section titles include The Politics of Architecture; Personal Mature Thoughts; Fantasy of Precisions; The Architect, the Artist; The Staircase; The Window; The Room,; Raw materials; House and Garden; Taste and Tastelessness; Women and Architecture; Industrial Design; and Listening to the Building. First American edition, published by F.W.Dodge Corporation in 1960. 8vo, hardcover with printed dust jacket, 270 pages with several b/w illustrations. Translated by Giuseppina and Mario Salvadori with a preface by Mario Salvadori. Ponti supplied new photographs and drawings to illustrate this first English-languge edition. Scarce.
  • Creator:
    Gio Ponti (Author)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 5.5 in (13.97 cm)Depth: 1.4 in (3.56 cm)
  • Style:
    Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1960
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor foxing to top edge. Previous owner’s signature on FFE. Moderate bumping and rubbing to dj, with foxing to spine, and 1/4” open tear to top edge of front cover. Interior clean and bright.
  • Seller Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU828545552432

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Catalog showcasing high-end Italian furnishings and accessories, published circa 1956 by the fabled Altamira design center located at 18 East 50th St in New York City. Per the introduction, “Altamira is the only center in this country where Interior-Architecture by Italy’s foremost architects is represented together with furniture, handicrafts, accessories and every other element essential to the modern interior.” Altamira commissioned a line of furniture from Gio Ponti in 1953, crafted by Giordano Chiesa in Milan. Included were a number of Ponti’s iconic mid-century designs—the Distex lounge chair and a self-described masterpiece, the two-drawer desk, model AP 1025, are shown in the present catalog. Shown, too, are furniture designs by Ponti’s fellow “interior architects” and designers Marco Zanuso (produced by Arflex Milano), Enrberto Carboni, Enrico Peresutti of BBPR, Carlo Pagani, Enrico Taglietti, Nino Zancada, Ico and Luisa Parisi, Ignacio Gardella...
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La Ceramica in Italia
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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.
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