Lot 298: Bruno Taut – "Alpine Architecture" – First Edition, 1919

Alpine Architektur in 5 Teilen und 30 Zeichnungen [Alpine Architecture in 5 Sections and 30 Illustrations], by Bruno Taut. Hagen: Folkwang, 1919. German. Thirty illustrations and architectural sketches, depicting the vision of German architect Bruno Taut (1880-1938) – building a "glass city" on the Alps. Divided into five sections - Crystal-House (Kristallhaus), architecture of the mountains (Architektur der Berge), Alpine building (der Alpenbau), building the Earth's crust (Erdrindenbau) and star-building (Sternbau). Eight color lillustrations are printed on the leaves and twenty two black-and-white illustrations are print on separate plates (tipped-in). Original cover with a silver impression. Bruno Taut, an architect and expressionist theoretician, was born in Königsberg (today Kaliningrad, Russia). In 1914, he participated in the Werkbund Architecture Exhibition in Köln, introducing to the world his "Glass Pavilion" - a prismatic glass dome structure with a steel foundation, which was considered a milestone in modern architecture. The frieze of the Glass Pavilion was written with sayings such as "Without a glass palace, life is a conviction". After World war I, he founded the "Glass Chain" (Gläserne Kette) artists circle and suggested to establish a series of glass structures on mountains around the world, with no useful purpose. His unique perceptions were most clearly manifested in the book "Alpine Architecture". 30 + [7] leaves, approx. 39.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and blemishes (mostly to the cover and first leaves). The cover and last leaf are partly detached. Tears along the edges and spine (some of them reinforced with tape). Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.