Libro Chair, 1970. Polyurethane foam, vinyl, and steel, 37 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 48" (95.3 x 82.6 x 121.9 cm).This amazing chair lives at the Museum of Modern Art. It was created in 1970 by the Italian design firms Gruppo DAM and Studio Gruppo 14.The 10 cushions are adjustable so one can find their perfect comfort level while reading.Or, for the more adventurous, you can adjust your position as you make your way through your book. Divide the number of pages by 10 and flip a cushion when that page number is reached.Thanks to Rebecca at Booktagger for the...
The Library of Congress Makes Room for Kids
On October 23 the Library of Congress will unveil the The Young Readers Center. It will be the first area devoted exclusively to children in the library’s 200+ year history.The Center, which is housed in a renovated recording studio, will open with about 800 books. Most will be donated by publishers or culled from the library’s duplicate and exchange department.The focus is on providing personal and family “reading-aloud” experiences, supplemented by demonstrations of the library’s online educational projects aimed at younger audiences.Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-South Florida) provided the impetus for the Center. After visiting the library Wasserman was "surprised...
Book Fair Blues
The 22nd Annual Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair is in the books. I have exhibited at 15 of them.and boy have things have changed.As my body recovers and my mind wandersThough the exact attendence figuresTouching the books less,The Lost Pleasure of Browsing
Shakespeare in Kindergarten
This week members of the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival will be paying a visit to the kindergarten classes at Our Lady of Lourdes in Louisville, KY.Using "The Tempest" as their guide they will explore the Elizabethan world and family relationships."We're talking about the different family relationships that are in the play. These are things that are accessible even to the kindergartners. They understand family, they understand relations and they understand emotions and we don't have to worry about the text of Shakespeare and the complexity of Shakespeare and all of that sort of thing. That can come much later on,”says Brian...
How the Book Looked in Weimar Germany
Frans Maserell's cover design and illustration for the 1930 German edition of Upton Sinclair's A Captain of Industry: Being the Story of a Civilized ManA Journey Round My Skull has a terrific post, BLICKFANG: The Eye-Catching Covers of Weimer Berlin, featuring 25 book cover and related designs.Poster by Alex Keil, 1930The visual bounty comes from the 2005 (and unfortunately out-of-print) book Blickfang: Bucheinbände und Schutzumschläge Berliner Verlage 1919 - 1933 published by Holstein. The book is packed with over 1000 examples, many from the heavyweights of graphic design of the period.Would love to see this one reprinted or in an...