Staladerns Janusansikte Och Andra Essaer [The Janus Face of the Steel Age and Other Essays] de Frosterus, Sigurd

Volume of Scandinavian modernist philosophical essays, 259 pp. Large octavo (9 1/4 x 6 inches). Original wrappers wtih blue, silver, and white modernist cover design. Small split at base of spine, creasing to corners of covers, light edgewear, minor soiling, interior with some minor creasing to a handful of pages, otherwise good. Stockholm: Holger Schildt, 1935. Sigurd Frosterus (1876-1956) was a Finnish architect, art collector, and art critic. His architectural office, which he worked in with Gustaf Strengell and Ole Gripenberg, designed villas and manor houses, including Tamminiemi, which was an official residence of the President of Finland from 1940 to 1981, and the Stockmann department store in Helsinki. Frosterus also served as the editor of Arkkitehti magazine from 1908 to 1911, painted, and published works on art theory and art criticism.
During the first half of the 20th century, Frosterus became one of the leading Scandinavian modernists. During the years of World War I, his style shifted from rational Art Nouveau towards historicism and classicism, and he began to criticize steel architecture, preferring brick buildings and handicraft instead. He began to consdier the symbolic and artistic value of building façades over any scientific or technological aspect.
This volume of essays is considered his main philosophical work, in which he assesses modern Western culture and discusses the idea of The World State, his concept of a political utopia. Although he hailed from Finland, he often wrote in Swedish - and this volume is an example of his work that was published in Swedish, in Sweden. This is indicative of his influence throughout Scandinavia.
As of April 2024, OCLC only locates copies of this work in libraries in Scandinavia, and none in a North American institution.