The Atlas of Furniture Design

Product Information

The book documents 1,740 objects by 546 designers and 565 manufacturers, and features more than 2,500 images, from detailed object photographs to historical documentation such as interiors, patents, brochures and reference works in art and architecture. You not only have detailed texts on individual objects, but also essays, glossaries of manufacturers and materials, biographies and of course – something no such encyclopedia should be without – detailed infographics, including various timelines on the development of design worldwide or the evolution of ground-breaking furniture types such as the cantilever chair or the Monobloc. The furniture collection of the Vitra Design Museum comprises more than 20,000 artefacts, around 7000 of which are pieces of furniture. The idea to publish an encyclopedic book on the topic of furniture design existed within the team of the Vitra Design Museum since the 1990s.

The Atlas of Furniture Design is the most comprehensive overview of the history of furniture design ever published. Furthermore, the book contains a complete appendix that includes designer biographies, bibliographies, a glossary of producers and materials, as well as a keyword index. The editors working on it had direct access to the physical objects and had them re-photographed for the collection. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. It contains comprehensive essays on the socio-cultural and design-historical contexts of furniture design, over 550 detailed texts on pioneering objects, and numerous information graphics that provide new visual insights into the history of furniture design.

This was intended as a gift but as a result of the labels I had to give the book minus its presentation case as could not remove the labels without damaging it. This includes 19th century furniture made out of bentwood and metal, Art Nouveau and Secession style designs, iconic designs by protagonists of modernism such as Le Corbusier, Gerrit Rietveld, Charlotte Perriand, Marcel Breuer, and Eileen Gray, but also post-war, post-modern, and contemporary furniture by designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Gae Aulenti, Finn Juhl, Ettore Sottsass, Philippe Starck, Hella Jongerius, Jasper Morrison, and Konstantin Grcic.

The basis for the Atlas of Furniture Design is the furniture collection held by the Vitra Design Museum, one of the largest of its kind in the world, with more than 7,000 works. The basis for the Atlas of Furniture Design is the collection held by the Vitra Design Museum, one of the largest of its kind with more than 7000 works.And we kept going back to the fundamental question of any collection: what is really important, what has staying power? A small number of our brands participate in a biannual seasonal shutdown, which in some cases, can affect lead times. But the »Atlas of Furniture Design« can also be enjoyed by readers who prefer to dispense with complex theories and just want to concentrate on each single object. The Atlas of Furniture Design is a treasure trove that offers not only definitive information about beloved staples of design history, but also new, fresh and often unexpected perspectives, all presented in a generous format that captures the breadth and depth of this important subject.