(Mid-Century Modern Furniture, Studio Woodworking, American Craft Movement) NAKASHIMA, George. GEORGE NAKASHIMA, WOODWORKER: PHOTO-ILLUSTRATED FURNITURE CATALOG WITH PRICE LIST DATED SEPTEMBER 1966 LAID IN.
New Hope, Pennsylvania: George Nakashima, Woodworker, circa 1955-1963. 4to - 11-1/4" x 8-5/8". Original yapp-edged green Japanese handmade paper wrappers, hand-sewn by master bookbinder Gerhard Gerlach as issued, with titles printed in light-colored ink to the front wrapper. Endpapers crafted from handmade Japanese paper. [28] pp., plus [4] leaves of price list dated September 1966 and [2] pp. overview and care instructions laid in as issued. Illustrated throughout with full-page black-and-white photographic plates of Nakashima furniture designs, including a tissue-guarded frontispiece interior view of the Conoid Studio and a two-page letterpress introduction by George Nakashima. The physical condition of the item is graded VERY GOOD (utilizing the standard antiquarian book grading scale for works on paper). Wrappers exhibit light wear at the head and tail of the spine, minor scattered spotting to the front panel, and moderate staining to the rear wrapper, remaining structurally sound and complete with fragile yapp edges intact. Internally near fine, featuring clean leaves with only two minor spots of discoloration across facing pages.
George Nakashima, the American Craft Movement, and the New Hope Workshop
Architect, philosopher, and master craftsman George Nakashima (1905–1990) stands as one of the central figures of twentieth-century American studio furniture design. Operating from his studio and workshop compound in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Nakashima synthesized traditional Japanese woodworking technique, modernist architectural form, and a deep spiritual reverence for natural wood grains and live edges. Produced between 1955 and 1963, this landmark promotional trade publication provides a comprehensive overview of Nakashima's studio output. The catalog showcases his iconic furniture lines, including dining tables, coffee and end tables, desks, chairs, rockers, benches, cushion pieces, stools, daybeds, chests, wall units, headboards, and lamps. Bound by renowned master bookbinder Gerhard Gerlach using handmade Japanese papers, the publication embodies Nakashima’s organic design ethos in both material construction and content. The accompanying laid-in price list from September 1966 offers an invaluable historical window into modern studio craft economics, listing baseline retail valuations ranging from $22.00 for a grass-seated stool to $460.00 for a large drop-leaf table.
Institutional Census, Trade Ephemera Survival, and Market Scarcity
Because these ephemeral trade catalogs were printed in limited distribution numbers for clients and studio visitors, surviving copies in original wrappers with laid-in ephemera remain exceptionally scarce. The delicate nature of the oversized yapp-edged Japanese paper wrappers rendered most copies prone to severe edge tears, spine splitting, or eventual loss. A current global sweep of the OCLC/WorldCat database locates only 9 copies preserved in institutional special collections worldwide, including holdings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.
THIS RARE 1960S GEORGE NAKASHIMA STUDIO FURNITURE CATALOG WITH ORIGINAL GERHARD GERLACH BINDING AND ACCOMPANYING 1966 PRICE LIST REPRESENTS A CRITICAL ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF MID-CENTURY MODERNISM, AMERICAN STUDIO FURNITURE, OR TWENTIETH-CENTURY INDUSTRIAL AND CRAFT DESIGN.
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