BOOK CLUB vol. 3: Finn Juhl's House

In my previous newsletter, I shared a whirlwind weekend spent in Copenhagen, and most excitingly, my visit to Finn Juhl’s home. A ton of you seemed to be beaming after reading about the space he designed for himself and his wife, Hanne. It’s tough to see photographs of this home and its objects and not feel the rush of inspiration! Even more, a brief glimpse at the bookshelves was enough to make a heart like mine flutter.

Mr. Juhl in his home, care of The Chieftain Chair.

I thought I’d dig a little more into this residence and focus on this couple’s book collection. I was surprised (and also not!) to see that a majority of the titles were either literature or books revolving around the history and/or mythologies of England, Greece, Egypt, and other geographic greats. My assumption was that we’d see a more heavy tilt toward architecture, furniture, and design-centric subjects.

Overall, I love imagining the two of them nestled into matching Juhl-designed chairs while reading a double-volume about English gardens. I’m swooning at the thought.

Photographs of Finn and Hanne’s objects, taken by me in Dececmber 2023.

Some of Finn Juhl’s List:

• Speaking Pictures: A Gallery of Pictorial Poetry from the Sixteenth Century to the Present, Edited by Milton Klonsky

• The Gardens of England in the Southern and Western Counties by Charles Holme

• The Warring States of Greece by A.R. Burn

• AIA Guide to New York City by Normal White and Elliot Willensky

• Henry Moore Drawings by Garrould

• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

• The Complete Aeschylus, Volume I: The Oresteia

• The Odyssey by Homer

• The Diary of Virginia Woolf 1915-1919

• Prospero's Cell: A Guide to the Landscape and the Manners of the Island of Corfu by Lawrence Durrell

• Voltaire by Georg Brandes (a copy from 1936)—And here’s another vintage 1936 copy!

• Juan Gris: His Life & Work by Daniel Kahnweiler

• The Penguin Encyclopedia

• The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature

• The Gold of Tutankhamen by Arnold C. Brackman and Kamal Mallakh

Five readings I would add to Finn and Hanne’s collection:

1. Lost Goddesses of Early Greece: A Collection of Pre-Hellenic Myths by Charlene Spretnak

2. The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who Created the Oxford English Dictionary by Sarah Ogilvie

3. The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England by Elizabeth Cleland and Adam Eaker

4. Rituals and Walls: The Architecture of Sacred Space by Maria Shéhérazade Giudici and Pier Vittorio Aureli

5. Henry Moore Institute’s Essays on Sculpture (no. 38 Gaston Lachaise and Elevation; no. 56 The Sculpture and Design of Bernard Schottlander; no. 60 The Sculpture in the Home Exhibitions; no. 62 A Rough Equivalent: Sculpture and Pottery in the Post-War Period; no. 69 Artists' Lives; and no. 79 New Sculpture in Britain)

Finn Juhl-themed books that I wouldn’t recommend to Finn himself (if he were still living), but would def recommend to you:

• Juhl: Life, Work, World by Christian Bundegaard

• Finn Juhl and His House by Per Hansen and Birgit Pedersen

Here are BOOK CLUB vol. 1 and vol. 2, if you want more literature stacks in your life for the new year.

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Enjoy the last days of 2023!

Bisous,

Kelsey

PS - Many of the books above are linked to Bookshop.org, which is my absolute favorite place to buy books online. Bookshop.org works to connect readers with independent booksellers and stores all over the world. Since 2020, they’ve raised more than $28 million for independent bookstores—which is 28 million times better than supporting Amazon. You can see/shop my Bookshop here! I do get a teeny, tiny commission off of every book sale purchased directly from these links or from my Bookshop store front. I’ll only link books if I honestly believe in their goodness.