O Ptolomeo! – a Design Classic

Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.(Groucho Marx)

In addition to being a dog lover, I am both a reader and lover of books. I mainly read fiction, but occasionally not. I mainly read popular stuff, but occasionally not. I like to escape into a book. I have had a love affair with books for as long as I can remember. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without books. Fortunately for me, I don’t have to. Also fortunately for me, LM is a reader, too.

I have an iPad. More than anything else, I use it for reading. I currently have 273 books on my iPad. I know that’s a lot. Gave me a fright, too! Amazon loves me! I find my iPad is great at night because you can read without having to worry about keeping your bed-partner awake with the light on. It’s also great when travelling.

But, my iPad will never replace the old-fashioned book for me.

There is no friend as loyal as a book.(Ernest Hemingway)

I love the smell of books. I love receiving books. I love browsing bookshops. And, I only like reading fiction on my iPad. Anything else, give me a hard-back all the way. Cookbook? – hard-back. Design book? – hard-back. Art book? – hard-back. Poetry? – hard-back. You name it, if it ain’t fiction, I want it in hard back, or at the very least, paperback, please.

A house without books is like a room without windows. (Horace Mann)

With all these hard-backed books lying around, a girl needs a place to store them. And in my opinion, there is nothing sexier – in the way of book shelves, at least – than an original Ptolomeo book stand, designed by Bruno Rainaldi. This ingenious book stand, with many imitations, turns the traditional bookcase on its side with horizontal dividers in a vertical column.

Named after Claudius Ptolemy (c. A.D. 87-150), the influential astronomer, it was the winner of the ADI Compasso d’Oro Award 2004, one of Italy’s leading awards for design. The Ptolomeo book stand also makes vertically stacked volumes easier to access – especially those titles at the bottom of the pile.

The design started a trend, and towers that allow you to stack books have now become a staple of modern interiors.

The original Ptolomeo doesn’t come cheap. But, original designs never do. I’m lucky enough to have one. It’s enough. For now.

If you would like to own an original Ptolomeo book stand, get thee to the Opinion Ciatti website here. They are the global distributors for this design classic.

If you happen to live in Sydney, Space Furniture is where I got mine. You can access their Opinion Ciatti details here.