Friday, March 22, 2013

Books

As far as I know only one bookshop survives in Atlanta – that is, within the part of town where I live. So, when I want to evaluate an interior design book, I rarely go the the bookshop – I go instead to one of two shops, neither of which is a bookshop – one is furniture store that sells interesting (frequently Belgian) books about European and American design, and the other a not-so-run-of-the-mill gift shop whose inventory always includes the latest designer monographs. I find little point going to the Big Box Bookstore (the single-surviving bookshop mentioned above) despite it being down the street. Too sad, too tired and the model hasn't changed since my father-in-law set up what was then Waterstone's in what had been the Conran's Habitat building in Boston in the 80s. 

A charismatic man was the Celt's father, who would have been horrified at what has happened to publishing since his time. When attired in his formal kilt, arrayed with sporran and sgian dubh, glass of single malt in his hand, he was the most interesting of public speakers, charming the knickers of his audience (as the Brits say) with a combination of erudition and humor – but, I digress...

Buying books online for me is a double-edged sword – the lower price is always welcome but increasingly I'm dissatisfied with bent corners and imperfections in book jackets caused by shrink-wrapping and (occasionally) inadequate packaging. In fact, there's a book in a box in the hall right now, awaiting its journey back to the post office. It's not being returned for the reasons above but because it is a big let-down – another disadvantage of buying online if one has not first assessed the book firsthand beforehand. 


"Order them online," suggested the Celt as I picked up both Fritz von der Schulenberg's and Tino Zervudachi's books. But I'm not a fan of delayed gratification, so as a compromise, I bought one immediately – no reduction there – and the other, online that evening. Thankfully, it arrived in perfect condition. Books other than interior design books – smaller books – tend to arrive in a better condition, which suggests there might need to be a reassessment of packaging methods in some executives' minds. It is, after all, a simple design problem and could be solved very quickly. No biggie, as we used to say. 


We all know, or should know, Fritz von der Schulenberg's work. One of the best photographers of interiors there is, whose photographs I've known since I bought my first issue of The World of Interiors (December 1982 - January 1983) – and whose book I very much looked forward to. When I saw Luxurious Minimalism: Elegant Interiors in the Rizzoli bookstore earlier this year I was not disappointed but, as usual, decided to buy it online, which I eventually didn't. 

Two things impressed me most – first, the delicious silk(-like) covered boards and spine, gold stamped without a jacket (luxurious minimalism, indeed), and second, the table of contents which heralds a fundamental lesson in interior decoration written and illustrated by the best: 

The Art of Elegance, an introductory essay by Fritz von der Schulenberg; followed by Rhythm with Nicholas Haslam and John Minshaw; Colour with John Stefanidis; Light with David Collins; Space with Anthony Collett and Annabelle Selldorf; Texture with William Sofield; Composition with Axel and Boris Vervoordt and Robert Kime. 


Rather than scan from this book I photographed it lying the desk in our new office. In case you're wondering, the wood is zebra wood. 


A quotation from the Foreword by David Mlinaric suffices to explain to those who have not heard – I cannot imagine there are many – of Tino Zervudachi. This Foreword is also an elegant assessment of the present-day state of interior design (not a negative assessment by any means), and well worth reading rather than being passed over on the way to the pictures. It's a short quotation but one that shows how young this man was when he became successful and now, not quite fifty, is the owner of the firm.  

".... Tino's work shows both a respect for the existing or the old and an enthusiasm for the new. It never crosses the threshold of excess and yes is glamorous and quietly luxurious. Tino was brought up in London and moved to Paris to start a branch of our design company, Mlinaric, Henry & Zervudachi, in 1991, when he was 27. He had joined the studio in London when he was 19..." 

Tino Zervudachi: A Portfolio is big book, beautifully illustrated, very well-written and makes clear that Continental interior design, at its best, is elegant, cultured and dapper. Actually, the exactly the same as the best American design, but with a completely different accent. 



None of the interior design books I've gone through in the bookstore have appealed to me for a long, long time. There seems to be plenty of majestic titling belying a dearth of substantive content. Also, it is apparent that mid-century or early-twentieth-century furniture still plays a role in the minds of designers who wish to appear original. So this is a refreshing change. Either – or better, both – of these books illustrates how to live in the present whilst appreciating the past, and neither book rigidly defines what that present might be. I highly recommend them.

I was not asked to review either of the books but have done so purely out of the pleasure of finally finding books worth buying.

16 comments:

  1. If I purchase one of these books (and I am oh so tempted), I am going to start throwing things out.

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  2. I see a trip to Alibris and to the dumpster in your future. I occasionally purge our place of things not used in a long time – all with a view to decluttering the place.

    I'm not sure if I had to chose between the books which one would be the one.

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  3. Schulenberg book: have most of the photographs been used in the World of Interiors?

    Did you see the piece on Zervudachi in Architectural Digest Dec '12-Jan'13,I found it on line after reading your blog. Zervudachi has great colour sense: veridian partnered with orange and is bringing back paint-grained woodwork,something I remember from seaside boarding houses when I was a child.
    Our local Waterstones (Watford) has now closed down-I'll hunt for the books next time I hit the West End. FYI its snowing in London today!
    Best
    Herts

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    1. Anonymous, thank you. I don't know if most of the Schulenberg photographs have appeared in The World of Interiors but I certainly recognized a lot that I had seen before. I should check all the credits at the back of book and I shall when I have time.

      Thanks to you I have just seen the AD articles about Zervudachi and again recognize a lot of photographs from the book. I remember my grandfather graining our doors at home and hating it but now know that when it well done it can be brilliant.I occasionally think of graining our doors which are panelled but I know I'll never do it –mahogany graining needs to be very subtle and I don't have the patience for that. I agree about Zervudachi's color sense.

      I heard from a friend that it is snowing in London, too. We are having a cold spell – in the 50s F. It has been a terrifically mild winter and our geraniums from last summer are still in bloom and the plumbago has overwintered.

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  4. Oh yes it is sad what is happening to our bookstores. I try to buy a couple of books a year from a delightful bookstore on Madison Avenue close to where I stay. Just to support them. Pretty soon all our towns are going to look the same if shops like these go away.

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    1. lindaraxa, thank you. The upper east side is well served for bookstores and I usually visit one at least when in the city. We already live in Generica but I never thought that bookstores would go the way of the dodo. And maybe they won't once the shakeout is over with.

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  5. Finally, book recommendations I know I can trust. Thank you! Both covers are delicious and your photos, with just a touch of that tawny rug or zebra wood are, too. Tino Zervudachi has a very beautiful space in the Palais Royal.

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    1. gésbi, thank you. I've not seen Mr Zervidachi's space at the Palais Royal but I would like to. Perhaps next year.

      The tawny rug in the hall has a certain hand-drawn quality to it that appeals to me – I collect drawings (when allowed).

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  6. I would likewise commend the Tino Z book, not just for the fine images but because it has a splendid text written by my friend in Paris, Natasha Fraser. And yes, Tino's gallery in the Palais Royal also well worth a visit for anyone passing through the city.

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    1. Irish Aesthete, thank you. If, this year, we pass through Paris on the way to or from Rome (though, this time we might explore Milan and eastwards) I shall certainly go to Mr Zervudachi's gallery.

      I must say you have a splendid blog.

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  7. In order to buy 'quantity' of books, I generally give up on even imagining they'll be even somewhat in good condition. I frequently buy them used in 'good' condition - missing dust jackets, etc. I usually pore over them so much that it makes sense in my case (and certainly for the money). I dream of a time though I can buy the books new and have them in good condition; temples to the art form perhaps?

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  8. ArchitectDesign, thank you. It makes sound economic sense to buy used books in condition. I prefer them to have book jackets (for me book jacket design is part of the experience of a book) but I have bought them without. Mind you, there are some doozies when it comes to book jacket designers - it used to be an art form now more of a "i can do that, I've got photoshop."

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  9. And thank you Mr Blue for your kind words about my blog, which I hope will yet equal your own for splendidness...

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  10. Irish Aesthete, thank you. An ex-neighbour now in New York told me about your blog and it has become a favourite. I've never been to Ireland which strikes me as rather stupid of me now I see what I'm missing.

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  11. I'll take your recommendation on board and hunt these down. Like you, I find myself very unenthusiastic about buying the majority of interior design books - so much sameness, so much superficiality, so much styling rather than design. But I do still buy architecture books, and history of interior design books.

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  12. I am saddened by the lack of a proper bookstore here. For years I bought my best and most expensive books from a special shop on Madison Avenue, Archivia, long gone. What is my city and the world coming to? Hardly any books and what there are shrink-wrapped. Soon we will have lost the wonder of a properly stocked bookstore.

    If God is good, I plan to leave my collection to the Forney (my collection is mostly about 18th century Paris) for its kindness to an American amateur. I might have been a legitimate scholar, but it didn't seem to matter.

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