State Ironworks and Steelworks at Podbrezová. Catalogue with Modern Bent Tubular Steel Furniture.

4to. Original publisher's metal clasp binding. Profusely illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs. Original printed wrappers. Very good condition with light soiling and minor wear to the wrappers.

An uncommon and visually striking pre-war trade catalogue issued by the State Ironworks and Steelworks at Podbrezová, documenting one of the most ambitious ranges of steel products manufactured in interwar Czechoslovakia. Of particular interest is the section devoted to modern bent tubular steel furniture, including cantilever armchairs, office chairs, desks, bookcases, filing cabinets, flower stands, stools, coat racks, and complete office interiors executed in chromed and lacquered steel tubing.

The catalogue is designed in a Functionalist style that is clearly indebted to the graphic language of Ladislav Sutnar. The attempt at a restrained palette of orange, black, and white, asymmetrical typography, generous use of white space, and emphasis on industrial photography unmistakably recall Sutnar's commercial work. While the layouts lack the rigorous refinement and editorial precision of Sutnar himself, they provide an example of how his revolutionary approach to information design had already been adopted and imitated by in-house designers in late-1930s Czechoslovakia.

Beyond furniture, the catalogue illustrates the remarkable breadth of Podbrezová's production, including rolled steel sections, seamless and welded pipes, fittings, structural steel, enamelled signs, architectural metalwork, steel windows and doors, spiral staircases, heating equipment, tanks, pressure vessels, and numerous examples of completed architectural installations.