Jock Peters, Architecture and Design: The Varieties of Modernism

This is a superb and passionate book. My mother's family and the Peters family were very close, starting in Germany, before WW I, where Jock Peters and my grandfather, the architect Dr. Kurt Meyer-Radon, were friends and associates. Peters encouraged my grandfather to bring his family to Southern California in 1923, where the children grew up together, as part of the German cultural scene. I was a lifelong friend of the late Jock de Swart, Peter's grandson, and of Ursula de Swart, his daughter, and her husband, the noted sculptor Jan de Swart. My grandfather joined Allied Architects, bringing the Neutra and Schindler families into the mix. I have spoken with the author by phone, after introducing myself by e-mail, and plan to visit him at his campus office in Austin to share my wide ranging memories of the people, places and the architectural record of this remarkable group. Reading this book has me asking the provocative question- how many other, lesser-known artist-architects remain to be researched and brought to public view and appreciation.

This book is a must for anyone's personal design library. I couldn't put it down when I received it as a gift. Jock Peters was like a "Renaissance Man" in the fact that he designed not only homes and commercial spaces but also furniture, packaging design, and film set pieces among many other things. I especially loved the surprise of seeing that he designed the set for one of my favorite films from the 1930's, "One Hour with You". The book is a treasure trove of archival photographs, watercolors and drawings and even floor plans. Coupled with the superbly written and researched text by the author it is a book about this previously unknown but important designer that will leave you inspired.

This is not just for architects, but for anyone interested in Modernism. So many great photographs of drawings and buildings, with extensive and varied documentation. I like the range of topics the book covers from pre WWI German modern architecture to early California modern architecture as well as graphics, interior design and early Hollywood movie history by way of fascinating set design.The book had information on Los Angeles houses I hadn't been aware of, thankfully some still extant.Also, I had never heard of Hollander, the New York City department store just east of 5th avenue on 57th Street. I was amazed to find out (in extensive endnotes) that it had received the 1930 gold medal of the Fifth Avenue Association as the "best structure erected in the past year."I also liked the juxtaposition of the color and archival photographs in the Bullock's Wilshire chapter.Overall, this book will no doubt appeal to a broad range of people.