Marcel Breuer: Architect and Designer Peter Blake, Architectural Record for The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, June, 1949. 128 pages, Hardcover with dustjacket. First edition.
Marcel Breuer: Furniture and Interiors Christopher Wilk, The Museum of Modern Art, 1981. 192 pages, Softcover.
View from a Long Chair: The Memoirs of Jack Pritchard, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1984. 189 pages, Hardcover with dustjacket. First edition. One of my favorite books, by the founder of Isokon.—JZ Sunning to the spine.
Isokon Alastair Grieve, Isokon Plus, 2004. 48 pages, Softcover. First edition.
Marcel Breuer: Bauhaus Tradition, Brutalist Invention Barry Bergdoll, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Summer 2016. 48 pages, Softcover.
Transitional Moments: Marcel Breuer, the W.C. Vaughan Co. and the Bauhaus in America, Aug 2018. 118 pages, Hardcover. First edition (500 copies). Stunning publication on the Boston-based architectural hardware firm, with special attention paid to Breuer’s designs for the Frank House, Pittsburgh, the House in the Museum Garden at MoMA, and the Gropius House, Lincoln, MA. Already scarce.—JZ
Alan I W Frank House: The Modernist Masterwork by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, Rizzoli, New York, 2019. 256 pages, Hardcover with dustjacket. First edition. One of the greatest interiors of modern furniture which hardly anyone has seen in person. Only two pieces have left the collection, sold by me in 2005.—JZ
Isokon and the Bauhaus in Britain Leyla Daybelge & Magnus Englund, Batsford, London, 2019. 240 pages, Hardcover. First edition.
At the intersection of scholarship and connoisseurship lies Curated: The Design and Library of James Zemaitis—an offering that reflects a career spent exploring, documenting, and shaping the discourse around modern and contemporary design. This carefully assembled selection includes both a compelling group of design works and a rich library of publications that have guided and inspired James Zemaitis throughout his decades in the field.
As Director of Museum Relations at R & Company since 2016, James has played a central role in developing exhibitions and fostering institutional partnerships. His recent curatorial projects, including Born Too Tall: California Women Designers, Postwar to Postmodern, demonstrate a thoughtful and inclusive approach to design history. Prior to his time at R & Company, James held leadership positions at Sotheby’s and Phillips, producing over fifty design sales and helping shape the trajectory of the postwar and contemporary design market.
This collection reflects James’s deep engagement with the material and intellectual history of design. The included library—rich with foundational texts, rare catalogues, and scholarly references—provides a rare window into the ideas and research that have underpinned his work as a curator, advisor, and educator.
This auction brings together design and scholarship in a way that reflects a lifetime of passion and purpose. We are honored to invite collectors, curators, and enthusiasts alike to discover a collection shaped by insight, research, and enduring care.
