Yellow Bookshelf by A. D. Dekker for Tomado, the Netherlands, 1960s

About This Piece

Vintage Design

Rare little yellow book shelf by Tomado (the Netherlands). This shelf is adjusted to the wall with two black metal hooks. And ideal little shelf for pocket books or small beautiful things to expose. Dimensions 48 x 11 x 17 cm (lxdxh).

Designer	A. D. Dekker
Manufacturer	Tomado, the Netherlands
Design Period	1960 to 1969
Production Period	1960 to 1969
Identifying Marks	This piece is attributed to the above-mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark
Style	Vintage
Detailed Condition	Very Good — This vintage item has no defects, but it may show slight traces of use.
Product Code	PX-781301
Materials	Metal
Color	Yellow
Width	48 cm 48 cm
Depth	11 cm 11 cm
Height	17 cm 17 cm
Weight Range	Standard — Between 40kg and 80kg
Duties Notice	Import duty is not included in the prices you see online. You may have to pay import duties upon receipt of your order.

Shipping & Delivery

Ships from	Netherlands
Duties Notice	Import duty is not included in the prices you see online. You may have to pay import duties upon receipt of your order.
Returns	Returns accepted within 14 days of delivery, except for Made-to-order items

Delivery Details

Delivery will be completed by a parcel service such as UPS, DHL, or FedEx.
You will receive a tracking number to monitor the status of your shipment.
Delivery will take place between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection.
Item will be left in its packaging after delivery.
A signature will be required upon delivery.

*Important Note

Please examine the packaging upon delivery. In the event that there are visible signs of damaged packaging, please indicate the problem on the Delivery Note, take pictures, and—if the item inside shows damages—contact us within 48 hours of delivery. A signed delivery receipt without notations regarding damaged packaging represents your acceptance of the completed order in perfect condition.

About the Designer

A. D. Dekker

While it is difficult to unearth reliable biographical information about a number of 20th century designers, few prove as great a challenge as A. D. Dekker. The designer is best known for a series of colorful, adjustable shelving units produced by Dutch brand Tomado. Confusingly, however, the designs are often attributed to either Adriaan Dekker, D. Dekker, or both! Unfortunately, our editors have been unable to resolve the conflicting information. We have, however, successfully established some concrete, key facts: Tomado (which was founded in 1923 and is an abbreviation of Togt Massa Artikelen Dordrecht) commissioned the design for Expo 58 in Brussels (1958), the first World’s Fair that took place after the Second World War, although some sources indicate the design goes back as far as 1953.

The colorful shelves of Dekker’s design, which call to mind the primary colors of Gerrit Rietveld’s Red & Blue Chair (1917), can be height-adjusted on the unit’s black plastic-coated metal racks. Satisfying the demand for small pieces that stored more, the mass-produced Tomado shelving system found a ready-made market, and a range of colors and configurations were produced. An advertisement from circa 1964 proclaims that it “Geeft u de Ruimte!” or “Gives you Space!”

Despite the dearth of biographical information available on the designer, his brightly-colored and easy-to-identify wall units—each shelf branded with Tomado’s mark—have been rediscovered in the 21st century and enjoy considerable popularity on the vintage market.