Freestanding bookcase from the 1950s–1960s

Freestanding bookcase from the 1950s–1960s, featuring a lightweight, rigorous black-painted metal frame paired with wooden shelves and storage units. The design is typical of post-war Italy: essential, functional, and elegant without being decorative.

The bookcase features four outwardly slanted uprights, which lighten the silhouette and lend vertical momentum. The wooden shelves, of varying heights, create a balanced and dynamic composition, while the back panel is covered with a sand-colored, finely striped paper/texture, a rare detail and very typical of modernist furniture.

The central storage unit is the most iconic feature: two doors, one wooden and one lacquered in cream, create a delicate yet decidedly mid-century color contrast. The doors slide on original runners, allowing for a visual alternation of full and empty spaces.
One of the doors has a small chip in the paint, visible in the photo.