Original Ptolomeo is the self-standing bookcase that needs no introduction, simple, revolutionary, innovative, as sudden as an intuition, as surprising as its success. Original Ptolomeo is a container that hides its shape to privilege its own content, eliminates the “superfluous” to highlight the essential, that is the books. The bookcase looks like a simple metal column to which thin metal shelves are joined. Shelves that disappear as the column fills with books, when it is full Original Ptolomeo becomes completely imperceptible and it almost seems that the books placed on it support themselves. Designed by Bruno Rainaldi, winner of the 2004 Compasso d’Oro, Original Ptolomeo was born from observation rather than from a formal procedure and translates a simple yet ingenious idea into a furnishing accessory, transforming a pile of books into a design object. A bookcase as “banal” as it is daring, to become a contemporary icon, a harmonious work of art and like a work of art, for its own protection, autographed on the base with the designer’s signature. Available in three different heights, Original Ptolomeo rests on a solid base – in stainless steel or in lacquered metal coordinated with the structure – specially designed to guarantee full stability.
