What are lists for? To keep alive, to preserve memory, to celebrate as many things as possible, and to try to group them together, even when a connection is not obvious or obvious. This is how Umberto Eco explains the urge to make lists, which has been with us since the dawn of writing, contrasting the concept of the list with that of the form, which differs from the former in that it is limited by defined boundaries. In his essay Vertigine della lista (Vertigo of the List), the semiologist examines dozens of literary and other references that consist precisely of lists, from Homer to Joyce, from the visual arts to music.

And of lists, traces of which can be found in every field and every era, design is also full.

More than 80 years ago, a particularly successful list brought together hundreds of designs dedicated to the theme of seating - chairs, but also sofas and armchairs, produced between 1934 and 1950 - in an attempt to bring order to the kaleidoscopic universe of design through a careful and orderly selection. 

It was compiled by Roberto Aloi, a Sicilian painter transplanted to Milan, a furniture expert and a man of great enthusiasm and curiosity. Together with the publisher Ulrico Hoepli, he published his first book, L'Arredamento moderno (Modern Furniture), and in 1950 the Esempi series was born, which explored different types of furniture through photographic collections. It was a happy intuition that marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration that lasted several years.

In this sense, the  possible vertigoes are endless, and at a time when we are used to scrolling through a potentially infinite sequence of things selected by an algorithm according to our tastes and needs (or presumed needs), smoothing and returning a list is a curatorial process, a delicate and responsible one.

The book Esempi is being revived thanks to a new edition of the series, edited by Gianpiero Aloi with Daniele Lorenzon, a passionate modern art dealer, and published by Compasso. It is a treasure trove of black and white images documenting the work of great designers such as Franco Albini, Paolo Buffa, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Carlo De Carli, Ignazio Gardella, Giovanni Gariboldi, Mario Gottardi, René Herbst, Giulio Minoletti, Ico Parisi, Gio Ponti, Enrico Rava, Jean Royere, Wim Rietveld, Ettore Sottsass and Guglielmo Ulrich. Bringing together more than 1,000 models of chairs, armchairs and sofas, this reprint is a monumental work: more than 300 designers, 20 years of Italian and international production, catalogued chronologically in an unprecedented anastatic reprint. An essential tool for designers, researchers and enthusiasts.

Through the exclusive use of images, the work tells a story of society, cultural evolution and ideas, more than just legs, seats and backs: designing a chair never means simply creating a support.