I recently found this book about the furniture of Poul Kjærholm. While it came with a hefty price tag, I couldn’t resist buying it. Find out why I like this book.
The chair on the cover of the book is Poul Kjærholm's PK25. He designed the chair in 1951 as a graduate project.
What I like about this book is the consequent use of the black and white archival photos of the Danish photographer Keld Helmer-Petersen.
Helmer-Petersen, considered a pioneer in the area of abstract colour photography, started his own studio in 1956 specializing in architecture and design photography. He had a close and long-standing collaboration with Poul Kjærholm and photographed all his furniture.
Another aspect of the book that I like is the design of this book. The graphic designer Takaaki Matsumoto opted for a square format, this to ressemblance the often geometric and square designs of Kjærholm´s furniture. To further complement the designs of Kjærholm, Matsumoto used the Futura type. The Futura typeface, designed by Paul Renner in 1924-1926, is itself based on simple geometric shapes, avoids decorative elements and has clean lines. The book was first published in 2008 and is unfortunately out of print.
The Furniture of Poul Kjærholm: Catalogue Raisonné
Author: Michael Sheridan
Publisher: Gregory R. Mileer & Co, New York, 2008
ISBN 978–097436488-9
More info about Helmer-Petersen:
https://www.keldhelmerpetersen.com