Kagu Shashin Shusei – Collection of Furniture Photographs

家具寫眞集成 / Kagu shashin shūsei. (A Collection of Furniture Photographs).

机　家具写真集成 1 (Desks: A Collection of Furniture Photographs 1)

Tokyo (東京): Koyosha Henshubu (洪洋社. 編輯部), [ca. 1932].

4 pp. contain text captions in numerical order, followed by 20 plates of printed b/w photogravure images of the furniture, and two final pages contain publishers advertisements.

26 x 19 cm. Spiral-bound illustrated red, black and white wrappers.

EUR 350

The first volume of a Japanese book series entitled „Kagu Shashin Shusei“ (家具寫眞集成), which translates roughly as ‘Collection of Furniture Photographs’.  This publication is an important document of Japanese modernism from the early 1930s . It is a photographic survey of modern furniture designs of that era. The series comprises at least 16 volumes, covering various subject areas, such as office furniture or café furnishings. In the Japanese and international markets, I can only ever find individual volumes, mostly in poor condition due to the delicate spiral binding.

Characteristic of these original editions are the spiral binding and the striking graphic design in red, black and white. The large character in the top right-hand corner, 机 (Tsukue), means ‘desk’ or ‘table’ and indicates the thematic focus of this volume. The style of the furniture ranges from Art Deco to Functionalism, including tubular steel furniture.

The book cover is evenly slightly tanned; overall, a copy in fine condition.

As of April 2026, OCLC lists holdings only in Japan and Princeton; further results include only digital resources and no physical items.