Printed Matter
The design library at Reform makes a compelling case for the virtues of old-fashioned, non-electronic research
by MAYER RUS / photographs by MISHA GRAVENOR
Despite the glut of information that pours forth from the Internet, there are still certain things that remain beyond the reach of the Google search. If you were interested in locating, say, a chipper guide to holiday decorating from the December 1952 issue of Living for Young Homemakers magazine, you’d be hard pressed to track it down even in the remotest corners of the Web.
That particular gem and thousands more like it are now available for public perusal at Reform Gallery, a Shangri-la of vintage furniture and California decorative arts. Last November, when Reform moved from La Cienega into its new location on Melrose, owner Gerard O’Brien seized the opportunity to consolidate his sprawling library in one expansive space just off the main showroom. It’s like a candy shop for design aficionados, students and anyone looking to establish the pedigree and provenance of a chair or lamp.
“I’ve always tried hard to contextualize the material I carry—to give people a sense of where these objects fall in the history of design,” O’Brien says. “The library brings more intimacy to our interactions with clients. There are concentrations of literature here that you can’t find in other places.”
The bulk of his collection is displayed in a massive antique bookcase—“instant architecture,” in O’Brien’s words—salvaged from the recently vacated Berkelouw Book Dealer on Highland Avenue. In addition to a king’s ransom in monographs and design compendia, there are full runs of magazines that have yet to be reprinted or reproduced in digital format.
These include Interiors, Craft Horizons, three decades of the Los Angeles Times Sunday “Home” supplements and, of course, Living for Young Homemakers, a champion of modernism in the 1940s and ’50s. O’Brien, a self-professed ephemera junkie, has also amassed a fabulous array of auction, exhibition and manufacturers’ catalogues.
The transition from the shop to the library is marked by a set of imposing enamel-on-steel doors designed by Kay Whitcomb. The counterpart to the 19-foot-long bookcase is a 15-foot-long Paul Williams conference table of book-matched mahogany veneer that came out of the headquarters Williams designed in 1949 for the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company at the corner of Adams and Western.
Other prominent pieces on display: a gargantuan conical block of wood by Pamela Blotner hanging precariously from the ceiling; and Elaine Katzer’s ceramic Tribesman sculpture, which, like the Whitcomb doors, was featured in 1971 in the annual California Design survey.
If you want to confirm that last citation, there’s a copy at Reform. It’s right there on the shelf. 6819 Melrose Ave, L.A., 323-938-1515, reform-modern.com.
Categories: Accessories / Art / Books / City Landmarks / Design / Feature Story / Pictorials
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Very inspiring, a dealer who not only buys books, but who reads books.
Collectors, take note of this example.
Buyers, take note of this dealer.
Bravo, Gerard!
Posted by: Daniel Ostroff | 03/07/2011 at 07:09 PM
I like this article very much and I think it's very timely! It's just what I needed! I like your idea very much! Hope to read smth like that next time here!
Posted by: Lord | 12/01/2011 at 06:26 AM
This New Year Tree is very creative. I like it. Should have thought about this myself. :D
Posted by: mp4 to mp3 converter | 12/28/2011 at 02:17 AM
You are right - there is something that is beyond Google search... couldn't have been said better! And everything that's beyond is in your imagination that helps you create brand new ideas. I liked the article and what you suggested, maybe I will soon be able to contribute to it by sharing my ideas.
Posted by: free image editor | 02/14/2012 at 03:01 AM
Hello, Mayer!
I should say, I adore such interiors like that. May be that really looks a little bit old-fashioned, but that's definitely its special appeal! What I really like is that bookcase. I'd love to have the same one at home! Thanks Misha for your great pics!
Regards,
Jenny
Posted by: Jenny Blumen | 03/06/2012 at 12:37 AM