A Handbook of California Design, 1930-1965: Craftspeople, Designers, Manufacturers (Mit Press)

Underwhelming in size, huge in data. This little puppy packs a punch in its breadth of coverage of artists from obscure to the obvious. Gorgeous design by Irma Boom makes for easy readability and organization - pages are rough edged and uncoated to create a sensory experience while traveling through the content. Nothing 4color or glossy here, just really rich and informative. The color looks great on my bookshelf.

Excellent reference book, long overdue. This contains a huge amount of info, and gives perfect bio and overview of the artist's / craftsmen

really great reference book

it is a great retrospect on influences on california designs and the people who were instrumental and influential in shaping the modern athaestics for that period

I initially picked this up because of the stunning design -- Irma Boom's design clearly matches the incredible resource of designers and artisans covered in this book. Many important figures here with many unknown (to me), an excellent overview of mid-century and modernist CA design.

Overpriced and little to say, padded out by cardboard pages. Not really quite what the title leads you to expect, more a series of designers' potted biographies. Would return for refund if I could.