Turner bookcase

Gianfranco Frattini

2019

Created by the masterful architect and designer Gianfranco Frattini (1926-2004), one of the trailblazers of the golden era of Italian design, the Turner swivel bookcase first saw the light in 1963 as Modello 823.

Inspired by the classic English freestanding bookcases, perfect for keeping your most treasured books close by at all times, the Turner swivel bookcase nonetheless boasts a cutting-edge design.

The 3-level supporting structure rises vertically like a building, each floor furnished with grooves that act as rails and enable you to add or remove a series of dividing panels to create different combinations as you desire in an ever-changing game of solids and voids. Poltrona Frau is delighted to present the reissue, modernised in terms of its materials but developed with the utmost care and philological respect.

Turner is a 123 cm tall and 65 cm wide free-standing swivel bookcase. It consists of an internal supporting structure in metal enclosed in a central column made with birch plywood panels with Canaletto walnut veneer. The same materials for the intermediate shelves, furnished with solid Canaletto walnut grooves to house the 21 dividing panels, 7 for each level. The latter have solid Canaletto walnut edges. A kit of 3 additional panels can be purchased separately to further enrich the bookcase. The top is in birch plywood covered with a double layer of Canaletto walnut refined in the lower part to act as a counterbalance. It is crowned with a circular rotating surface made from MDF and covered with precious Pelle Frau® SC leather or Saddle Executive leather. The circular base is made from black painted steel. The bookcase is completed by the Poltrona Frau logo and the signature of the architect, laser-engraved at the centre of the column under the top.