Author(s): Franco Clivio

Photography

For several decades, the designer Franco Clivio has collected everyday objects that are usually considered mundane and unspectacular. Clasp knives, knick-knacks, multipurpose gadgets, tools, and new versions of old friends such as scissors, spectacles, and measuring instruments: this volume includes 900 objects classified by function and type, material and form. Often the work of anonymous designers, these objects pay tribute to the ingeniousness of artisans and technicians who have provided solutions to a whole range of problems. The common denominator of this magnificent array of objects is always the sophisticated quality of the design, which is concerned less with beauty of form than with an unusual aspect of function, material, or construction.