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THIS IS TOMORROW
Alloway, Lawrence, Reyner Banham, David Lewis & John McHale. Theo Crosby, Editor. London: Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1956. First Edition 1/1300. Square 8vo. Spiral Bound Printed Wrappers. Exhibition Catalog. Very Good.. np (128pp), profusely illustrated in color and b&w. Designed by Edward Wright. In a protective clear acetate dustwrapper. A decade before it became ground zero for the Swingin' sixties, London was still shrouded in industrial smoke and rebuilding from the carnage of the Blitz. Its art schools and architectural colleges were however already working towards a colorful, less class-stratified post-war Britain filled with modernist architecture, art, and design for the consumer-driven masses. This generation of forward thinkers loosely known as "The Independent Group" gave birth to the ground-breaking 1956 "This Is Tomorrow" exhibition held at the Whitechapel Art Gallery. Presciently combining corporate sponsors with twelve "teams" of younger architects, designers, and theorists, the exhibition presented a dozen distinct collaborative environments that were clear forerunners of both Pop and Installation Art. The complete list of participants of the "This is Tomorrow" exhibition and its graphically innovative catalogue were Theo Crosby, Germano Facetti, William Turnbull, Edward Wright, Richard Hamilton, John McHale, John Voelcker, J. D. H. Catleugh, James Hull, Leslie Thornton, Anthony Jackson, Sarah Jackson, Emilio Scanavino, John Ernest, Anthony Hill, Denis Williams, Eduardo Paolozzi, Alison and Peter Smithson, Nigel Henderson, Victor Pasmore, Erno Goldfinger, Helen Phillips, James Stirling, Michael Pine, Richard Matthews, Kenneth Martin, Mary Martin and John Weeks, Robert Adams, Frank Newby, Peter Carter, Colin St. John Wilson, Adrian Heath, John Weeks, Lawrence Alloway, Geoffrey Holroyd, Toni del Renzio. A complete, internally most handsome example of the uncommon 1956 first edition of this vital document limited to one thousand, three hundred unnumbered copies showing some mild overall wear, creasing, and soiling to the extremities of the covers and textblock along with some typical loss of the some of the white enamel coating of the wire spiral binding. PLEASE NOTE: Additional shipping costs are required for this item beyond our standard rates due to its value - we will inform you of the applicable amount at time of purchase. Inventory Number: 025176