We’re just a few months shy of the 20th. anniversary of Opinion Ciatti’s Original Ptolomeo, the iconic furnishing that turns a perilous pile of books into a work of art.

It’s a rather simple design: a steel column with a series of thin shelves, spaced just right so that the bookcase’s visible structure disappears as the room fills up.

The result is an intentional obfuscation that leaves the thing displayed to create the ostensible structure, in this case, an apparently about-to-topple assortment of reading material.

Ptolomeo designer Bruno Rainaldi named his creation for the original librarian, Ptolemy, an Alexandrian who, back in the third century B.C. was the first person to curate books with an eye to their preservation and care.

“Looking at the piles of books, being charmed by their height that seems to defy the laws of gravity, turning this amazing image into a real object. Ptolomeo is dedicated to the person who first collected everything that had been written, with intelligent passion, without censure or fear.”

Finishes for Ptolomeo include black, white, stainless steel, or corten effect. Go to Opinion Ciatti to find out more.