Modern Bookcases
MODERN STYLE
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
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Style: Modern
Italian Modern Colored Solid Wood Self-Supporting Bookcase, 1980s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian modern colored solid wood self-supporting bookcase, 1980s.
Self-supporting bookcase with structure entirely in solid wood composed of two v...
Category
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood
Pyrite Bookshelf by Luca Nichetto
Located in Geneve, CH
Pyrite bookshelf by Luca Nichetto
Materials:
Dimensions: W 200 x D 31.6 x H 69 cm
Inspired by optical illusion artworks, the design of Pyrite bookshelf amazes through an unexpec...
Category
2010s French Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood
White Primitive Bookshelf by Studio Nucleo, Made in Italy
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
The Primitive bookshelf was one of the strongest and most iconic products designed by Studio Nucleo. Initially made as a limited-edition product, t...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Plastic
Set of 4 Strut Shelves from Souda, 116in, Black, Made to Order
By Souda
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 4 116" Shelves & 16 Brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can adj...
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal, Steel
Ghidini 1961 Flexor Bookcase by Robert Stadler
Located in Villa Carcina, IT
La struttura in estrusione di alluminio del sistema di scaffalature Flexor consente infinite possibilità di combinazione.
I robusti elementi metallici collegano e sostengono i vari...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood
Neo Industrial Bookcase, Oak
Located in Orlando, FL
-The TV Unit included in the Neo Industrial Series has been designed to meet the multi-purpose storage needs of new-generation homes.
-It looks both dynamic and serene.
-With its mi...
Category
2010s Turkish Modern Bookcases
Materials
Oak
Italian modern Bookcase Panchina in wood slats, 2000s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian modern Bookcase Panchina in wood slats, 2000s
Floor bookcase mod. Panchina entirely in wood. The 4 shelves are composed of horizontal wooden slats with a square section, whic...
Category
Early 2000s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood
Italian modern Squared modular bookcase or display in smoked plexiglass, 1990s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian modern Squared modular bookcase or display in smoked plexiglass, 1990s
Modular bookcase made entirely of smoked plexiglass. The modules are 6 squares and 4 rectangles, with r...
Category
1990s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Plexiglass
Contemporary Clay Bookshelves by Maarten Baas
By Maarten Baas
Located in Warsaw, PL
These vibrant Bookshelves are from Maarten Baas’s iconic ‘Clay’ collection launched in 2006. The idiosyncratic childishness of this collection is created through Baas’s individual ha...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
Casey Lurie Modern Low "Primo" Shelving System in White Oak with Stainless Steel
By Casey Lurie
Located in Chicago, IL
“Shelving can be the most mundane thing you own, or it can be the beautiful bones of a room, as pleasing to see as anything it displays. Casey Lurie’s Primo system would be the latter.”
William L. Hamilton, The Wall Street Journal
The Primo shelving...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Stainless Steel, Brass, Metal
Bookshelf Structure Wood Ebony Veneered Back in Vetrite with Strip Led
By sicis
Located in London, GB
Sicis is delighted to welcome you at ‘Home’.
The classically inspired extent in contemporary plays an eclectic style, elegant and refined. Interiors express personality.
A constant...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Glass, Wood, Ebony
Italian Modern Square Bookcase in Glass and Aluminum
Located in Boston, MA
The Sixty bookcase, designed by Giuseppe Bavuso, is a bookcase with a sleek design characterized by the invisible round joints connecting its structure and shelves.
Structure made ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
Gallotti & Radice, Smoked Glass and Lacquered Wood Cabinet from 70s
Located in Catania, CT
Great vintage condition with normal trace of age snd use for this cabinet made from smoked glasses and lacquered wood.
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Glass, Lacquer
21st Century Carpanese Home Italia Bookshelf Modern, Aida 220
Located in Sanguinetto, IT
Precious bookshelf that is more than a piece of furniture that serves you, it is a true piece of art.
Realized only with the best materials, it is perfect for every luxury environme...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Marble, Metal
Contemporary Modern Minimal Black Zigzag Modular Bookcase Room Divider, USA
Located in Chicago, IL
Conceived as a minimal and contemporary bookcase to breakup the plane of the wall, this modular system, is versatile as a modern room divider as well as a backdrop in any space, be i...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Fluid Shelf by Roberto Giacomucci
Located in Geneve, CH
Fluid shelf by Roberto Giacomucci
Materials: Wood, liquid metal
Dimensions: L 100 x P 40 x H 180 cm
The freak collection is made of wood coated with liquid metal, a 95% real met...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
Constantin Bookends, C by Colé Italia
Located in Geneve, CH
Constantin Bookends by Colé Italia, C with Agustina Bottoni
Dimensions: H.20 D.7 W.7 cm
Materials: The body is a cube in Marquina black marble with white veins. The top is in solid...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Oak, Walnut
"Dany" aluminum bookcase by William Mulas
Located in Modugno, BA
Dany with invisible interlocking system and wall anchorage, integrates harmoniously into our interior spaces, giving with its structure so thin and minimal, a touch of personal elega...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
Soft Shelves Green by Manon Ritaly
Located in Geneve, CH
Soft shelves green by Manon Ritaly
Dimensions: 100 x 65 x 30cm
Materials: Steel, fabric, foam, ceramic
Manon Ritaly, Designer, visual artist, dream...
Category
2010s French Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Italian Large Mahogany and Glass Wall Unit, Bookcase by Dassi, 1940
Located in Rome, IT
Dassi wall unit, bookcase and a radiator covering
Part of a unique living room
Two shelves, a door covered by several glass sheets, two frontal door...
Category
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass
21st Century Psyco Bookcase in Brushed Bronze finishing by Gianfranco Ferré Home
Located in Cantù, Lombardia
An imposing, sculptural element with an oriental-inspired design, whose structure is the result of a symmetrical game between two identical pieces. Original and scenographic, it play...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass
21st Century Modern Bookshelf with Agglomerated Wood Top Ethrio Made in Italy
Located in Sant'Elena, IT
This is a very flexible shelving system that can suit any type of space. With a simple shifting in the assembling of the shelves, a variety of possible configurations is available, d...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Book Bombs by Hamilton Holmes
Located in Geneve, CH
Book bombs by Hamilton Holmes.
Oxalino Collection
2020
Dimensions: 25.4 diameter cm
Materials: White oak.
Perfect spheres turned from single slabs of lumber are given tripod l...
Category
2010s Canadian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Oak
Proportions of Stone Shelf Level 07 by Lee Sisan
Located in Geneve, CH
Proportions of stone shelf level 07 by Lee Sisan
Dimensions: W 76 x D 76 x H 160 cm
Materials: stainless steel, natural stone
Each piece is made to or...
Category
2010s South Korean Modern Bookcases
Materials
Stone, Steel
35 Black Ash Frame Box with 1 Drawer by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
35 Black ash frame box with 1 drawer by Lassen.
Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 35 cm.
Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, Metal, Veneer.
Also available in different colour...
Category
2010s Danish Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
Contemporary Cioccolata Bookshelf in Aluminium by Altreforme
By Aziz Sariyer
Located in Calolziocorte (Lecco) Italy, IT
Cioccolata is a bookcase whose taste is refined, sweet and incredibly unique. It envelopes in its symmetric folds the magic pages of a good book, the scent of the most beautiful flow...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
Contemporary "Beloved One" Walnut and Leather Bookcase
Located in Milano, IT
A small bookcase, precious as a treasure chest, to contain the most beloved books, the memories and the objects of our life.
A frame in Canaletto walnut, crystal shelves and a leathe...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Crystal
Thin Book Ends in Contemporary Bronze and Steel in various Patinas
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The Thin bookends explore a miniature variation of Kin & Company’s iconic Thin Chair. Beautifully paired with books, plants, or small accessories, the Thin ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass, Steel
Aria 'Air', 21st Century Modern Bianco Carrara Marble Bookend
Located in Cologna Veneta, IT
The name "Aria" refers to the angular and oblique shape of this bookend.
Indeed, the Aria bookend seems to have been bent and modified by the wind.
Made entirely of marble, Aria is...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Marble, Carrara Marble
Italian Contemporary Design Black Marble and Oak Wood Wardrobe
By DD Dimore
Located in Brescia, IT
This gorgeous wardrobe is entirely hand made in every part by a team of master Italian craftsmans.
The structure is realized in dark brown colored oak. The sliding doors are finishe...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Marble
Bookcase Totem Collezione Ollo Alchimia by Alessandro Guerriero, Italy
Located in Milan, Italy
Bookcase Totem Ollo collection, Alchimia, 2019, in lacquered wood black and metallic yellow.
In 1976 Alessandro and Adriana Guerriero established Alchi...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood
Modern Daniele Papuli for Dilmos Bookshelf Storage Handmade Paper
Located in Milan, IT
Totem sculpture of angular shape with support on the ground, made with strips of selected paper for weight and color for Dilmos Milnao. The Totem is equipped with an internal, laminated lamellar structure with three shelves. Metria is a single vertical element which in composition with several elements, it becomes a modular partition wall...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Paper
Impressive Ralph Lauren Sideboard Console Slate Stone Door and Shelves Redwood
By Ralph Lauren
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer for sale this ex showroom stock Ralph Lauren RRP £14,000 light Rosewood sideboard buffer with solid polished slate stone door and shelves
I have recently...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Slate
Set of 3 Strut Shelves from Souda, 84in, Black, Made to Order
By Souda
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 3 84" shelves and 9 brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can adj...
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal, Steel
Contemporary Bookcase B, Etched Brass, Pivoting Doors and Stone Elm Shelves
By SEM, Giacomo Moor
Located in Brooklyn, NY
SEM Pivot Contemporary collection, bookcase B, simple and sculptural. The supporting structure is a rigid system of metal tubes to which are added shelves in beautiful stone elm wood combined with various lacquered containers...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass, Metal
Set of 4 Strut Shelves from Souda, 84in, Modern White Wood Wall Shelf/Bookcase
By Souda
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price includes 4 84" long shelves with 12 white brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket fin...
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal, Steel
Cloud Painted Paper Pulp Side Table 'Goodnight Moon Edition'
By Fort Makers
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Cloud side table by Chiaozza
2021
Materials: Painted Paper Pulp
Dimensions: H 30" x W 22" x D 6.5"
Edition: Unique
Covered with cheerful yellow-painted pulp, Chiaozza's Cloud Table is almost cartoon-like, as if the artists took a toy and enlarged it to create a cinematic scene. Hand-crafted, this exaggerated, oversized side table references the cloud-like vignettes in Goodnight Moon...
Category
2010s North American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Paper
Set of 4 Strut Shelves from Souda, 84in, White, Made to Order
By Souda
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 4 84" Shelves & 12 Brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can adju...
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal, Steel
Set of Three Burl Wood and Smoked Plexiglass Bookcases
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Set of three vintage bookcases. Burl wood shelves and smoked plexiglass vertical supports with brass fittings, American, 1970s.
Category
Late 20th Century American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Plexiglass, Burl
21st Century Taxila Bookcase in Wood and Metal by Etro Home Interiors
Located in Cantù, Lombardia
The bamboo cane, an evocative element of naturalistic inspiration, is proposed with a polished brass finish, a reference to ethnicity that meets the refinement of precious materials,...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
Soller Bookcase
Located in Milan, IT
This gorgeous bookcase will imbue any decor style with utmost refinement and a timeless allure. Boasting three glass doors and three wooden shelves, ...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood
Fit Red Bookcase by Marc Sadler
By Da A
Located in Milan, IT
A unique piece of modern sophistication, this bookcase will add a colorful and elegant accent to any contemporary indoor or outdoor area. Resting on turned brass feet and equipped wi...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass, Steel
FF Void Shelving 1
By Simon Johns
Located in East-Bolton, Quebec
A slender tower-like sculptural bookcase, with a continuous cavernous void that rises through a rigid structure. The hand polished aluminum reflects light from the room onto the interior of the piece, highlighting the collections signature texture, while also creating illusions of transparency through reflection.
About the Future Fossils Collection...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Aluminum
21st Century Matteo Zorzenoni Bones Bookcase Black PaintedWood Scapin Collezioni
Located in Tezze sul Brenta, IT
Bones bookcase, Colorama Collection
Design by Matteo Zorzenoni for Scapin Collezioni
Soft lines and visual lightness are the key traits that distinguish the Bones bookcase. Thanks t...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Wood
21st Century Psyco Bookcase in Black Chrome Finishing by Gianfranco Ferré Home
Located in Cantù, Lombardia
A new chrome-plated London smoke grey for the Psycho bookcase was presented for the first time at the Salone del Mobile, in 2018. The original orient...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Chrome
Large Bookshelf by Neri & Hu
Located in Geneve, CH
Large bookshelf by Neri & Hu
Dimensions: W 201 x D 55 x H 200 cm
Materials: Canaletto walnut veneer wood
Doors: Dark green, prune, warm white lacquered mdf
Founded in 2004 by p...
Category
2010s French Modern Bookcases
Materials
Other
Set of 5 Strut Shelves from Souda, 116in, Black and Walnut, Made to Order
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 5 116" shelves & 20 brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can adj...
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal, Steel
“Graffiti” Bookcase by Rodney Kinsman for Bieffeplast, Italy 1980s
Located in Argelato, BO
Bookcase model “Graffiti” by Rodney Kinsman for Bieffeplast, 1980s
Bookcase of Italian manufacture made by Bieffeplast of Padua in the ...
Category
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
Set of 5 Strut Shelves from Souda, 84in, Black and Maple, Made to Order
By Souda
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 5 84" Shelves & 15 Brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can adju...
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal, Steel
Set of 2 Strut Shelves from Souda, 52in, Black, Made to Order
By Souda
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Price on this configuration includes 2 52" Shelves & 4 Brackets. This shelving system is really easy to customize: we offer multiple wood finishes, bracket finishes, and we can adjus...
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal, Steel
Contemporary Sculptural Black Steel Etagere Bookcase Storage Shelf USA
Located in Chicago, IL
The contemporary modern Black Steel Ahn etagere is a study in positive and negative space. With its five different asymmetrical and organic surfaces, Ahn is a minimal sculpture in its own right, playing with balance and tension between the shelves while serving as an etagere, bookcase, or storage shelf...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Teteia, Wall Shelve by Cultivado Em Casa
Located in Geneve, CH
Thethea - wall shelve by Cultivado Em Casa
Dimensions: 50 x 38 x 140 cm
Materials: MDF, carbon steel. Painting in Duco paint
Teteia is a suspended bookcase...
Category
2010s Brazilian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Steel
Karl Springer styled Lucite / Bamboo / Glass Etagere
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A very well crafted Etagere with clear Lucite posts straddled by hardened bamboo pieces woven to each corner making for nice detailed construction . Five glass shelves that include t...
Category
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Bookcases
Materials
Bamboo, Glass, Lucite
49 Oak Frame Box Trio by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
49 Oak frame box Trio by Lassen
Dimensions: D 147 x W 42 x H 49 cm
Materials: finér, melamin, melamine, metal, veneer, oak
Also available in different colours and dimensions.
We...
Category
2010s Danish Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
42 Smoked Oak Frame View Box by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
42 Smoked oak frame view box by Lassen
Dimensions: D 126 x W 21 x H 42 cm
Materials: finér, melamin, melamine, metal, veneer, oak
Also available in different colors and dimension...
Category
2010s Danish Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
35 Smoked Oak Frame Box with 2 Drawer by Lassen
Located in Geneve, CH
35 smoked oak frame box with 2 drawer by Lassen
Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 35 cm
Materials: Finér, Melamin, Melamin, Melamine, metal, veneer, oak
Also available in different col...
Category
2010s Danish Modern Bookcases
Materials
Metal
One of a Kind Custom Emmett Moore Limed Oak Bookcase, USA, 2014
By Emmett Moore 1
Located in Miami, FL
One of a kind bookcase rendered in limed oak with undulating oak shelves and six adjustable glass shelves, numerous uniquely shaped compartments make this piece multifunctional for c...
Category
2010s American Modern Bookcases
Materials
Glass, Oak
Frame Bookcase
By Ghidini 1961
Located in Milan, IT
A clean and essential design of strong geometrical value, this striking bookcase will make a bold and stately addition to any contemporary decor. Featuring two vertical supports and ...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Bookcases
Materials
Brass
Modern bookcases for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Modern bookcases for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage bookcases created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include case pieces and storage cabinets, more furniture and collectibles, wall decorations and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, wood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Modern bookcases made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and Denmark pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original bookcases, popular names associated with this style include DeCastelli, Kartell, Souda, and Danese Milano. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for bookcases differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $120 and tops out at $96,530 while the average work can sell for $3,910.