August 4, 2006

You Mean THIS Sweet Weimar Bauhaus Bassinet??

weimar_bauhaus_bassinet.jpg

"Any photos of sweet Bauhaus children's furniture?" I ask with dopey innocence at the end of the previous post. To which modernist design shark Andy replies, "Crafts of the Weimar Bauhaus, 1919-1924. An Early Experiment in Industrial Design has a few photographs of kid's pieces, including a sweet bassinet."

Let me just say, if you're buying this rare 1967 title, you really might want to hold out for a copy with the dustjacket still intact. BECAUSE THERE'S A GIANT PHOTO OF A FREAKIN SWEET BASSINET ON IT.

To me, this looks more de Stijl and even Memphis than what I picture Bauhaus to be, but that's because I still think of Bauhaus in terms of stern, Gropius/Miesian International Style architecture and sleek Breuer furniture. This colorful, almost whimsical geometric design--which I hope is counterweighted, or at least comes with stops you can place under the rockers--is definitely from the craftier side of the haus.

This image is from an eBay auction, where this finelooking dustjacket and its accompanying book are selling for $150, plus $10 shipping. A comparable-sounding copy can be had on Abebooks for under $90, though.

update: Mark at Sparkability just told me this rig is actually in production, and they can order it for you. Around $2,500, but check with him. Not bad, considering it was $2,233 when it went on sale in 1989. Check out the lede on this NY Times mention of it:

WHO needs an Aprica stroller when one can have a Bauhaus-style cradle, designed by Peter Keler in 1922 and based on the forms and colors of Wassily Kandinsky?
Who indeed. We're not inventing anything here our yuppie forebears didn't already know.

mfr site: Bauhaus-Wiege/Bauhaus-Cradle, Peter Keler, 1922 in colors "according to Wassily Kandinsky" [tecta.de]
Search for Crafts of the Weimar Bauhaus, $150 on eBay [ebay]
Crafts of the Weimar Bauhaus on Abebooks, $9-132 [abebooks]
Related; De Stijl high chairs by Gerrit Rietveld; Naef to see you again: Mondrian-inspired blocks

2 Comments

Seems you haven't studied the early days of the Bauhaus. It was a melding of just what you thought it wasn't - De Stijl, Russian Constructivism, and Expressionism from Germany. The original school focused on the medieval craftsman ideals back when Germany was considered in its heyday. The new Bauhaus under Gropius eventually had to turn to more industrial, machine aesthetic as Germany progressed towards WWII.

That....is a freakin' SWEET bassinet!

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