Description
Design critic Alice Rawsthorn wrote of this book:
“My favorite design critic is the peerless Reyner Banham, who not only played an important part in the development of British pop art but also pioneered serious design writing in postwar Britain. I was tempted to choose one of his “proper” books, like Theory and Design in the First Machine Age, but plumped for a playful one, Design by Choice. It is a collection of Banham’s journalism for art, architecture, and political magazines in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, including Art in America, Architectural Review, and New Society, chosen by the British design historian Penny Sparke. Design by Choice shows off not only Banham’s wryly conversational writing style but also his intellectual depth and passion for design.
Banham combined an academically rigorous critique of modernism with an unfettered enthusiasm for boyish obsessions, such as the beloved Moulton mini-cycle on which he pedaled around London, 1950s Jaguar Saloons, Olivetti computers, Braun transistor radios, Star Wars, and Barbarella. He also had an insatiable curiosity to unearth the hidden meaning of mechanical “gizmos” like dictation machines, waste disposal units, cordless shavers, and Polaroid cameras. His references now seem endearingly retro, but the underlying principles of his writing, and many of Banham’s conclusions, are as adroit and original now as they were then.”
Near fine hardback first edition first printing with very good dustjacket, slightly bumped at top as shown.
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