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Finn Juhl (1912-1989)
Finn Juhl & His Chieftain Chair Danish architect Finn Juhl brought his own aesthetic to Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern furniture, especially his ethnic inspired sculptural seating still popular today. The Chieftain Chair is Juhl’s best known but by no means his only Mid-Century Modern design classic.
Finn Juhl a Brief Biography Juhl was born in 1912 in Frederiksberg (part of Greater Copenhagen). His authoritarian father was a textile wholesaler representing a [...] Click here to continue reading.
Eames Furniture for Herman Miller ESU storage unit/entertainment center, by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller, p4A item D9851741
Ray and Charles Eames designs for Herman Miller included casework, tables, sofas and architectural accessories as well as their ubiquitous chairs. The Eamses had a long and successful partnership with the furniture manufacturer including many products that have been in continuous production for fifty years. Vintage versions of Eames designs are eagerly sought after [...] Click here to continue reading.
Jeremiah Haines
Little is known about Jeremiah Haines, although he is listed in American Cabinetmakers: Marked American Furniture, 1640-1940 by William C. Ketchum, Jr.
Ketchum notes the existence of a Chippendale mahogany chest of drawers, circa 1770 to 1790, illustrated in the January 1956 issue of Antiques. The bottom of the piece was inscribed “Made and Sold by Jereiah Haines.”
Skinner, Inc., offered a sideboard signed and dated 1808 at an auction in 2013. [...] Click here to continue reading.
The Sarcophagus in Decorative Arts
Derived from the Greek sarx, meaning flesh, and phagein, meaning eat, a sarcophagus is, essentially, a container for a body, much like a coffin or casket. Historically, sarcophagi were typically made of stone (though sometimes of other materials, such as wood or metal), with a relief-carved or pediment top, and designed to be above ground, and have been used by many cultures since ancient times.
An ancient [...] Click here to continue reading.
Hans Wegner (1914-2007)
Hans Wegner’s 60+ year career produced more than 500 chair designs, many of which are still in production today. The most prolific of the modernist chair designers, Hans Wegner believed that a chair should be made well enough to last for fifty years, and his classic designs for seating have lasted much longer than that.
Hans Wegner Brief Biography Hans Wegner was born in a small town in southern Denmark in [...] Click here to continue reading.
Eames Chairs
Seating Classics by Mid-Century Designers Ray & Charles Eames: The market for mid-century furnishings and accessories is still hot, and among the hottest are chairs by husband and wife team, Ray and Charles Eames. Collectors love the clean lines of these classic designs, many of which are being manufactured today. Here’s what it will cost to own both new and vintage models.
Ray & Charles & the Eames Era Few [...] Click here to continue reading.
Kimbel & Cabus, Victorian Cabinetmakers
When Anthony Kimbel and Joseph Cabus formed their partnership in 1863, they were both experienced veterans of the highly competitive furniture manufacturing business in New York, which included Herter Brothers, Alexander Roux and Pottier & Stymus.
Kimbel had been a designer in partnership with Anthony Bembe in the 1850′s when the company made the furniture for the United States House of Representatives (see examples in the p4A reference database). [...] Click here to continue reading.
George Nelson (1908-1986)
George Nelson trained as an architect before joining the Herman Miller (furniture) Co. and becoming its design director for the 1950′s and 60′s. From this position Nelson became one of the most influential modernist designer’s in mid-century America.
Among Nelson’s furniture designs to have become 20th century design classics are the “Marshmellow” sofa (1956), the Ball Clock (1949), the “Slat Bench”, the “Sling Sofa” (1960′s), his “Bubble” and “Cigar” lamps (1952) [...] Click here to continue reading.
Alvar Aalto (Finnish, 1898-1976)
Arguably Finland’s most famous architect, Alvar Aalto was undoubtedly a major influence on the design as well as the technology that led to Mid-Century classics.
Alvar Aalto Brief Biography Aalto (1898-1976) studied architecture at the Helsinki Polytechnic from 1916-1921, opening his first architectural office in 1923. By 1929, he was designing interiors and their accessories, including furniture, textiles, glass, and lighting. His fifty year career spanned all the stages of [...] Click here to continue reading.
Bakelite
Scandal & the Story of Bakelite Bakelite hit the market in 1907, heralding the arrival of the modern plastics industry. Bakelite was the first completely man made plastic, as until then, plastics such as celluloid, casein, and Gutta-Percha all had as a base a natural material. It was developed by Belgian-born chemist Dr. Leo Hendrick Baekeland who started his firm General Bakelite Company to produce the phenolic resin type plastic. Bakelite was inexpensive [...] Click here to continue reading.
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