Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Reneacute; Herbst's enduring furniture designs provide fundamental lessons for today's interior designers. A staunch modernist, Herbst was a founding member and later president of the Union des artistes modernes (UAM) in France, which sought to make domestic comfort accessible to all, regardless of class. The diversity of his work is testament to his prolific and creative output, and his design is marked by its simplicity and functionality. The French architect turned designer was nicknamed the "man of steel" because he pioneered the use of the material for furniture years before mass production on a large scale was possible. In 1929 he created several versions of his celebrated Sandow Chair, which ignited his research into serial production and inaugurated the era of mass production. This book presents a selection of the best works from the Herbst Collection held by the library of the Museacute;e des Arts deacute;coratifs in Paris, and demonstrates how Herbst was the catalyst of a new style of living that spurred the birth of modernity.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Rene Herbst pioneered a modern international style that utilized industrial materials and mass-produced furnishings of chrome and steel in the overall design of store displays, commercial exhibitions, furniture, interior decoration, and even steamliner interiors. Delaporte, head of contemporary collections at the Bibliotheque des Arts Decoratifs (BAD) in Paris, masterfully portrays the French designer as an avant-garde revolutionary and design pioneer, whose career spanned 1908 to 1966. This volume highlights Herbst's output and influence through photographs, notebooks, and books written by the designer, as well as other relevant works from his personal archives that were donated to BAD in 1982. True to Herbst's style, its design is streamlined and functional. A chronology of Herbst's life and a brief bibliography of works from his archives conclude the book. With 130 illustrations, this would be a welcome addition to collections on design and decorative arts.-Stephen Allan Patrick, East Tennessee State Univ. Libs., Johnson City. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

This book offers an enticing glimpse into the Rene Herbst archives (Bibliotheque Forney and the Bibliotheque des Arts Decoratifs, Paris). Herbst would have approved of this book as an exemplary manifesto encompassing his career. Like good design, it addresses viewers by means of striking visuals and words that have been selected with care. Scholars will find primary documents (many reproduced for the first time), a chronology of Herbst's life and work, and an inventory of the contents of his archives. Historians of museum and commercial displays will find rare and fascinating photographs. Images of the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative Arts (the exhibit that gave Art Deco its name) show Herbst's participation in the conversion of a Paris bridge into a street of designer storefronts. Yet Art Deco was but one stylistic term associated with Herbst's "art of the street." If the book's subtitle asks us to reconsider the role of "total design" in defining modernism, with this beautifully produced and designed book there is plenty of new material for those who would do so. It is highly recommended for programs that integrate the study of art and design. ^BSumming Up: Essential. All levels. J. E. Housefield Texas State University-San Marcos