Japanese sale for AINO & ALVAR AALTO!

We cannot be more excited to let you know that Japanese publisher Soshisha has acquired rights to THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO, written by Aaltos’ grandson Heikki Aalto-Alanen.

This is a love story of the world-famous, pioneering design couple Aino and Alvar Aalto including previously unpublished correspondence from 1921-1949, photography and drawings. Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino are internationally celebrated for their architecture, furniture, glassware and other interior design, but their personal lives have been relatively unknown – until now.

Download the English sample by clicking here

Soshisha is known for its successful translation titles for history and biographies and they are really happy for the acquisition:

We are truly delighted for this opportunity to introduce such an extremely valuable book of correspondences written by the internationally renowned Finnish architects, Aino and Alvar Aalto, to Japan. The Aaltos are widely recognized in Japan as well, and the ideas which they pursued on design have been continuously referenced and implemented in the fields of architecture and design in Japan today. I believe that the Japanese people resonate with their deep understanding of human and nature through their design utilizing curved lines and wood. I am sure that Japanese readers are highly anticipating this book and its revelations about how the Aaltos have lived through tumultuous times and thought about design. 
– Kazuhiro Yoshida, Editor, Soshisha, Japan

THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO
by Heikki Aalto-Alanen
Otava, September 2021

This is the love story of the world-famous, pioneering design couple Aino and Alvar Aalto.
Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino are internationally celebrated for their architecture, furniture, glassware and other interior design, but their personal lives have been relatively unknown – until now. This book, written by the Aaltos’ grandson, contains photos, sketches, and personal letters between Aino and Alvar beautifully illustrating how inseparable this couple was both in work and love.

“Countless books have been written about Alvar Aalto’s architecture and other works. Recently, Aino Marsio-Aalto has also received the recognition she deserves in her own right as well as in her role in the rise of Alvar Aalto as one of the leading architects of the 20th century,” says Heikki Aalto-Alanen, grandson of the Aaltos’.
“The voice in this book is personal. I want to tell the story of Aino and Alvar’s unique partnership, relationship, and their joint life work from the perspective of a family member. I also want their own voices to be heard.”

In addition to the photographs from the family archive, the book is illustrated with Aino and Alvar’s drawings of each other and of their children, as well as landscape drawings made while traveling, along with other architectural drawings and photographs