Italian Glass, Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, 164 pages undated. English Language

The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade produced a range of books on Italian design in the 1950s and 1960s in a bid one presumes to encourage exports (there are also handicrafts, ceramics and furniture) in this series. This appears to be the rarest and contains an essay on the Italian Glass Industry, a series of sections, Decorative and Articles for Home use (including Lighting), Apparel, Stained Glass and Mosaic. Also included is an Appendix of Manufacturers and a table of exports which dates the catalogue to post 1954.

There are 164 pages of which approximately 120 are images. There are a series of sections, Decorative and Articles for Home use (including Lighting), Apparel, Stained Glass and Mosaic. Featuring works by the following manufacturers: S.A.L.I.R, Barbini, Barovier and Toso, Salviati, Archimede Seguso, Cenedese, Venini, Aureliano Toso, Venini, Avem, Luigi Fontana.



Desthetica is a portmanteau of design and aesthetics and the stock consists of design reference works from all over the world with an emphasis on Scandinavian and Italian 20th century design and English interwar and post-war Design. Their primary use is the attribution of objects to designers and manufacturers. Customers are dealers, collectors, auction houses, museums and also contemporary designers.

Between us we have a B.A. in the History of Art, Design and Film, an M.A. in Design History from the R.C.A/ Victoria and Albert Museum, a PhD on furniture design in progress plus an intimate knowledge of the auction house and antique trade. We have a large stock of books, catalogues and reference works which are constantly changing so if you don’t see what you are looking for contact us.


Feel free to ask questions, and check out our shop, as it gives you the tools to browse through different categories such as furniture or lamps or Italian Design.

Our listings deal exclusively with design reference works, especially out of print design books, collectible design books original manufacturers catalogues and exhibition catalogues from all over the world with an emphasis on furniture, glass, ceramics, lighting and textiles from the 1880s to the present day. We stock a large selection of mid-century design books with an emphasis on Scandinavian (Danish and Swedish mainly) and Italian 20th century design and English interwar and post-war design books.