I think it’s fair to say that Mid-Century Modern Furniture book by Dominic Bradbury is at the top of my ‘wants’ list this Christmas.
Of course, it is. That’s because of the author, the publisher and the subject matter. Thames and Hudson always produce high-quality coffee table books, and I’ve yet to see anything by Dominic Bradbury that isn’t essential.
Have a look here for his past releases on architecture and interior design. They are so well-researched and produced, and if you are a fan of 20th-century design like myself, you will want to own a good number of them.
That carries through to this release as well, which promises to be one of the best. Especially if you like to fill your home with furnishings from the middle of the 20th century. or, at the very least, aspire to do that.
A large-format book with 448 pages within, this promises to be ‘the ultimate collector’s resource’, packing in hundreds of pieces by both well-known and lesser-known designers from around the world.
It doesn’t just stick to the core period either According to the pre-publicity, the book takes in design from the late 1930s to the early 1970s, an era when post-war optimism combined with new manufacturing methods and material techniques to create ‘an explosion of new design and objects of desire’. Many of which are still desired today, either as originals or officially-sanctioned reissues.
Each item of furniture is presented in detail, illustrated in colour and profiled via in-depth descriptive texts by author Dominic Bradbury. The book’s reference section also includes essays on materials (plywood, for example) and designer profiles.
If you have any interest in the area, this is likely a must-have or, at the very least, one for your Christmas list. Just on the shelves and already discounted from its original £50 asking price down to £33.