In partnership with Isokon Plus, Penguin brings you limited edition colours of the Isokon Penguin Donkey Mark 2. The original bookcase first launched in the 60s alongside a vision for modernist living, and it is designed to hold your Penguin Collection perfectly, while doubling as a side table for your afternoon tea, biscuits, and other reading accompaniments.
There are just ten units being made in each colour. This Pantone shade corresponds to the purple visible on our redesigned Penguin Classics sci-fi series. Â
Pantone: 688 C
This image is representative only: please refer to the above Pantone colour for true colour matching.
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Product Information:
- Colour: 688 C
- Dimensions: 535 x 400 x 395 mm
- Finish: PU lacquer with solid cherry legs and limited edition plaque in stainless steel
- Product is non-refundable
Delivery details:Â
- This product is made to order and can take up to 10 weeks to deliver. Please email shop@penguin.co.uk for delivery datesÂ
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Isokon Penguin Donkey Mark 2 – What is it?
This mid-century, modernist bookshelf coffee table was re-designed from the original Penguin Donkey, a visionary piece of furniture now part of a collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Isokon Penguin Donkey Mark 2 holds plenty of paperbacks and features central slots for newspapers and magazines. Compared to its curvier predecessor, the flat countertop doubles as a side table with storage, and as stated on its 1963 advertisement, “provides a convenient chairside table for your tray of hors d’oeuvres, coffee cups, glass, ashtray, knitting or anything else you want to keep beside you.”
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About Isokon Plus, the manufacturerÂ
The Isokon Furniture Company was founded in 1935 by Jack Pritchard, a British entrepreneur and visionary. He believed modern architecture and design had the ability to transform society for the better. Isokon’s designs have endured as among the most important and original of the 20th century. From the initial machining of timber to the final polish, one highly-skilled cabinetmaker sees a batch of products through from beginning to end in Isokon Plus’ London workshop where they are proud to continue the traditions of craftsmanship and manufacturing.
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About Ernest Race, the designer
Ernest Race, born in 1913, was one of the most inventive and challenging exponents of mid-century British design. He developed an innovative range of aluminium furniture in the post-war years and launched his best-known designs, the BA3 Aluminium Chair and the Antelope Chair, in 1951 for the Festival of Britain. He was asked by Jack Pritchard to redesign the Isokon Penguin Donkey in 1963 and created the Isokon Penguin Donkey Mark 2 which retained the panniers of Egon Riss’ original design but instead of curves had a linear form with a flat top for use as a side table.
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