Iconic Super Rare Original Edition 'Libro' Chair By Gruppo Dam, Busnelli, 1970

Amazing and super rare original edition of the iconic ,radical 'libro' chair designed in 1970 by Gruppo DAM (Designer Associati Milano) in collaboration with the avant garde design group 'Gruppo G14' .

Dimensions, please note the seating height, height and length of this chair is variable depending on how the seating leaves and enameled steel frame are arranged, only the width of the seat is fixed. The dimensions quoted are only one of the many possible and are for the seating elements as arranged in the last photo.

The 'Libro'—meaning “book” in Italian—takes its form quite literally. Ten thin wedges are stacked on each other, hinged at the apex of an articulated enameled steel frame. What unfolds is an object with a childlike sense of discovery, offering an extraordinary range of seating positions depending on the flipping of each “page” along the spine. It demonstrates the re-envisioning of industrial design into a subversive lifestyle tool. And for a chair that cleanly falls into Italy’s postwar radical design movement of the late 1960s and early ’70s, it’s surprisingly functional—as practical as it is playfully outlandish. Undoubtedly, its originality, its simplicity, its ease of use, and its versatility make this sculpture-like armchair attractive to lovers of beauty and collectors interested in the conception and cultural process of design.

Chairs from the original edition , finished in shiny vinyl, were originally produced in tiny numbers by 'Busnelli', as you can imagine at the time this design was considered too avant-garde and conceptual for the taste of the mass market. This example suffers from the same fate as per 95% of the original edition chairs in that the type of vinyl used proved to be particularly sensitive to UV light so over the passing years the surface layer of the vinyl upholstery has cracked significantly , some may see this as a flaw but it proves the originality of this museum piece and the chances of today finding an original edition chair without this vinyl surface cracking are effectively and unfortunately next to none.

Today these extremely rare and early iconic examples of italian radical design should be considered more as avant garde sculpture than as piece of everyday seating, these are cultural icons of radical design produced in extremely small numbers and today are more suited to museum and private collections. The museum of modern art in New York for example has a 'libro' chair as part of its permanent design collection. Please see second to last photo.

In June 2018 a 'libro' chair from the original edition sold for 16,000 Euros in auction in Milan and was sold to a private collector.

Restoration:
Being such a rare ,early and iconic example of italian radical design we decided to leave this chair as original as possible, should the buyer find the surface cracking to the vinyl to be too unsightly and eventually decide to reupholster the chair ,so be it ,but we would personally advise against this because these are really museum quality pieces. The only restoration work undertaken has been to reinforce the straps that connect each seat wedge to the steel frame with white leather reinforcements, which you can only see on the underside and in some of the detail photos . As you can imagine ,50 years of flipping each seat wedge back and forth eventually takes its toll on the connecting straps so we deemed this work necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the chair. The single central canvas floor strap which connects each half of the hinged enameled steel frame and whose function is to prevent the frame from collapsing and doing the splits is the original and is still strong. There are signs of water staining to the cosmetic canvas closing panels to the underside of the chair, we have left these original canvas panels in place , they are purely cosmetic and again could easily be replaced with new canvas panels.

Background history:
Gruppo DAM (Designer Associati Milano) was formalized in 1967 in Milan and demonstrated an impressive output of pieces in seating, lighting, and tableware before dissolving just eight years later, in 1975. Documentation around Gruppo DAM is scarce, but the designs attributed to it are iconic, and credit for them is often shared with Gruppo G14 and that group’s talented roster of designers who congregated in the late 1960s, including Gianfranco Facchetti, Umberto Orsoni, Gianni Pareschi, Giuseppe Pensotti, and Roberto Ubaldi. Pareschi described G14’s creation as “born on the banks of the Politecnico,” referring to the Polytechnic of Milan where he trained in design and which instilled in the group an ethos of integrated workmanship and innovative content. Both groups were operating and creating concurrently with Gruppo Industriale Busnelli’s shift to more industrialized and research-based methods of production to accommodate the growing housing demands of the Italian population, with a new factory opening in Misinto, outside Milan, in 1972

Literature:
'DOMUS', September 1970, full page advert, please see image 2
'ABITARE', OCTOBER 1970, full page advert
'Design Journal' , October 1970, page 79
P. Decelle, D. Hennebert, P. Loze, L’utopie du tout plastique, Norma Editions, Paris 1994, p. 102
A. Bangert, Italienisches mobeldesign. Klassiker von 1945 bis 1985, CIP, Munchen 1985, p. 98;
1000 chairs, page 492, Charlotte & Peter Fiell,Taschen, 1997

Permanent museum collections: MOMA New York.
Seat Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)

Condition report:

Fair. Repaired: we have reinforced the straps that connect each seat wedge to the steel frame with leather reinforcements, as over 50 years of flipping each seat wedge back and forth had taken its toll on the original straps, now they are sound. Wear consistent with age and use. Surface cracking to the vinyl upholstery as per 95% of original edition chairs, the original vinyl used was very sensitive to UV. Water staining to original canvas closing panels to the underside of the chair, again these could easily be replaced.