An unprecedented, essential field guide to more than a century of fascinating product and industrial designFrom legendary classics to anonymous objects that are indispensable in homes and offices, this one-of-a-kind collection of original patent documents celebrates the creative genius of designers, inventors, creators, innovators, and dreamers the world over. The range is phenomenal: patents by Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, Isamu Noguchi, Ettore Sottsass, Raymond Loewy, and George Nelson sit alongside everyday designs for tape dispensers, pencil sharpeners, food processors, desk fans, and drink bottles to create an valuable reference that's also an irresistible browse.

Thomas Rinaldi is an architectural designer based in New York City with degrees from Georgetown and Columbia Universities. He has written several architecture books and his photographs have been published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Post. He has lectured widely, including at the New York Public Library and the Society of Architectural Historians.