Catherine McDermott

When traveling it's natural to want to buy a souvenir or two, and for me that typically involves books. But rather than having to lug home a coffee table book, it makes more sense to buy smaller editions for easier transport. Such drove my decision to get the "pocket" edition of nearly 400 classics of 20th century design when I visited London and the Design Museum during the Millennium festivities. The book is a decent overview of important buildings, interiors, products, pieces of furniture, clothing, and other things designed last century. It's far from comprehensive, but in the areas where my expertise is lacking the book is a handy reference that also shows how the design of just about everything evolved in the course of 100 years. It's interesting all these years later to see just how much of the architecture in the book I've seen in person (about a third) or how many of the products I now own (not nearly as high a percentage).… (mehr)