Decorative Arts 50s
Decorative Arts 50s and Decorative Arts 60s, edited by Peter and Charlotte Fiell and published by Taschen. There's on on the 70s too but I don't have it.
These are both thick books with hundreds and hundreds of photos from manufacturers' catalogs and magazines from these eras. There is very little text other than identifying the objects and interiors. These are the kinds of books that you can look at again and again and always notice new things.
They're also not expensive at all. The only drawback is the way they are bound. Pages tend to come unglued at the spine if you don't handle the book carefully.
http://www.amazon.com/Decorative-Art-50s-Taschen-Anniversary/dp/38365031...
With respect to Spanky I shou...
With respect to Spanky I should point out that "Decorative Art 50s" (& 60s 70s) are actually abridged selections from The Studio Year Book of Decorative Art (subsequently Decorative Art in Modern Interiors) a British publication which ran from 1906 to 1980 - and well worth getting hold of (the originals I mean)when you see them.
I really like the Lesley Jackson one
"The New Look Design in the Fifties" - although it is contemporary.
For authentic I typically go for old magazines from that era, esp Better Homes and Gardens - then you see what really abominable stuff was popular back in the day. Mixed in you find the good stuff, a chair over in the corner, something on a kitchen counter, a clock on a wall. But ugh, lots of really terrible stuff too - but authentic.
I also recently acquired a 1970s edition of Bloomingdale's Book of Home Decorating, but that has the same issues as the back-issue magazines - a mixed bag o' stuff.
"contemporary" by Lesley...
"contemporary" by Lesley Jackson. It's about furniture as well as architecture, has good photos and also comprehensive texts about the background.
For the natural habitats I'd focus on the usual classics about residential architecture from Taschen: "Modernism Rediscovered" by Serraino & Shulman, "Case Study Houses" by Smith & Goessel and "R Neutra. Complete Works" by MacLamprecht.
Interior Design in the 20th Century by Tate and Smith...
If all you want is MCM pics and info, this book is NOT for you.
But this book does a remarkably good job of tracking how modernism has been (and probably always will be) one of two rivers running parallel in the plain of interior design: traditional and modern. It is quite fascinating to compare the way traditional evolved and the way modern evolved over the 20th century. Neither were static.
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