how to wrap 5 eggs

this is my keibunsha book of the week this week and it is so good i thought maybe i should pay it some more attention. a book of traditional japanese packaging design edited by graphic designer Hideyuki Oka first published in the 1960s. i really like the dwell.com comment on the traditional designs: 'ingeniously utilitarian yet fine and rare'. and this cool tools article has some excerpts from the book, including detailed explanations of how the form follows function in the packaging designs - really interesting reading.

the celebration of the intrinsic beauty of the craftsmanship in these photographs also makes me want to re-read more closely the unknown craftsman by mingei movement founder soetsu yanagi. how to wrap 5 eggs has an introduction from george nelson, to quote:

'what we have lost for sure is what this book is all about: a once common sense of fitness in the relationships between hand, materials, use and shape, and above all, a sense of delight in the look and feel of very ordinary, humble things'

the book is available via amazon.