Milano. Photogrpahs by Giulia Pirelli and Carlo Orsi. Introduction by Dino Buzzati. Design by Giancarlo Iliprandi. Bruno Alfieri, Milan, 1965. 106 pp. Folio. First edition. Photo-illustrated glazed paper over board with cloth spine. No jacket as issued. 54 gravure reproductions.
The dramatic shift away from the somewhat grim 1950s neo-realism seen in the other (equally scarce) Milan book, by Mario Carrieri, currently on offer offers an object lesson in shifting period style. Though published only six years after Carrieri's monograph, Pirelli and Orsi present a slick, cosmopolitan city on the move, contrasting sharply with the former's lingering sense of post-war dread and deprivation. "In only a few years the angst of the 1950s had been replaced by the buoyancy of the 60s," Parr and Badger write, "though some might say that art suffered as a result. Nevertheless, this is a vibrant, energetic, sharp and covetable book, and if style tends to win out over substance, that was the 60s, that was."
Fine-; moderate rubbing to boards; very slight stress to hinges toward front of text block (binding remains secure); 1/4" tear to linen on front joint.
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