Collectables: 20th Century Classics E-Book

Quin Scala

• Herausgeber: IMM Lifestyle Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 158

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

The 20th century was a rich and influential period of beautiful, innovative design and many classics from that era have influenced and inspired modern designers. "Collectables: 20th-Century Classics" features more than 90 of the most desirable and iconic pieces from the last century. Beautifully illustrated and organized by category (furniture, household, lighting, glass and ceramics) each entry has: a double-page spread, featuring a short essay on the classic under discussion with an accompanying photograph of that object; top tips on what to look out; a price guide; and, key websites to direct the reader on where best to make a purchase or pick up a bargain. Clear and concise, this book provides all the information you need to make an informed decision when investing in a piece of classic design, whether it be an Arne Jacobsen Egg chair, a Clarice Cliff tea cup or a Poul Henningsen PH lamp. This gorgeous book is a must for anyone interested in style, design or interiors.

Leseprobe

Collectables

Collectables

20th-Century Classics

The 20th century was a period of truly inspirational and great design. The two world wars led to unprecedented population movement, in particular from Germany in the 1920s and 30s to Britain and America, and led talented designers such as Walter Gropius, head of Bauhaus, to work at British companies such as Isokon. Changes in production techniques, scientific advances and innovations in materials and industrial design also had their knock-on effect on how household wares were produced, making it possible for beautifully crafted products to reach mass markets at affordable prices. Processes and materials formerly used in industrial or military design began to creep into the production of domestic goods. Similarly, with innovations in methods of travel the world became an infinitely smaller place, enabling people to be aware of the design, colour, pattens, fabrics and materials more commonly used in other countries. In particular Scandinavian design began to seep into western European and American consciousness, resulting in a merging of methods and the creation of even more inspiring chairs, lights, tables, cutlery and so on.

Collectables has the rather ambitious task of showcasing almost 100 of the most desirable objects in the areas of furniture, household, lighting, glass and ceramics. This is a monumental task and, I hasten to add, this is a personal selection of collectable items and mixes the truly expensive with the very affordable. It is by no means a comprehensive directory and I can already hear you saying: ‘Why isn’t this in the book?’ and ‘Why include that?’ All I can say is, the items shown here are only a very brief insight into the wealth of influential but collectable 20th-century classic design.

In order to make the book easy to use, the items are arranged by year or decade within each colour-coded category. Each entry features a photograph, often kindly supplied by the manufacturer, a concise essay putting the object and designer in context, some top tips on what to look out for and a website.

I really hope this introduces you to the world of eminently collectable design objects on your doorstep and shows you the truly inspirational items that such men and women as Marcel Breuer, Arne Jacobsen, Jessie Tait and Nanny Still produced during that century.

– Fletcher Sibthorp

Contents

Author note

  Furniture

B3 (Wassily) Chair, Marcel Breuer

LC3 (Grand Confort), Le Corbusier/Jeanneret/Perriand

Chaise Longue LC4, Le Corbusier/Jeanneret/Perriand

Barcelona Chair, Mies van der Rohe/Reich

Brno Chair (MR50), Mies van der Rohe/Reich

41 Paimio, Alvar Aalto

Isokon Long Chair, Marcel Breuer

Penguin Donkey, Egon Riss

LCW (Lounge Chair Wood), Charles and Ray Eames

NV–45, Finn Juhl

Round Chair, Hans J. Wegner

Noguchi Table (IN-50), Isami Noguchi

Womb Chair, Eero Saarinen

La Chaise, Ray and Charles Eames

LAR, DAR and RAR, Ray and Charles Eames

Chieftain Chair, Finn Juhl

Wishbone Chair, Hans J. Wegner

ESU Bookshelf, Charles and Ray Eames

Teddy Bear Chair (PP19), Hans J. Wegner

Valet Chair (PP250), Hans J.Wegner,

2-Seater Settee, Florence Knoll

Butterfly Stool, Sori Yanagi

Model 3107 (Series 7), Arne Jacobsen

Tulip Chair (Model 150), Eero Saarinen

Tulip Table, Eero Saarinen

Model 670 and Model (Lounge Chair and Ottoman), Charles and Ray Eames

Marshmallow Sofa, George Nelson

Egg Chair, Arne Jacobsen

Swan Sofa, Arne Jacobsen

Egg, Nanna Ditzel

Oxchair, Hans J. Wegner

606 Universal Shelving System, Dieter Rams

PK24 Chaise Longue (The Hammock), Poul Kjaerholm

Ribbon Chair, Pierre Paulin

Bubble Chair, Eero Aarnio

Panton Stacking Chair, Verner Panton

Soft Pad Chair, Charles and Ray Eames

S Chair, Tom Dixon

Balzac Armchair and Ottoman, Matthew Hilton

Charles Sofa, Antonio Citterio

Loop Table, Barber Osgerby

Low Pad, Jasper Morrison

  Household

Tea Service, Wilhelm Wagenfeld

Tea Trolley 901, Alvar Aalto

Sunburst Clock, George Nelson

Europiccola, La Pavoni

Wooden Monkey, Kay Bojesen

Teak Bowl, Finn Juhl

Krenit Bowl, Herbert Krenchel

Hang-It-All, Charles and Ray Eames

Ericofon, Blomberg/Lysell/Gösta Thames

Flensted Mobile, Christian and Grethe Flensted

Teapot, Sori Yanagi

Cutlery, Arne Jacobsen

Wall Clock 32/0389, Max Bill

Sarpaneva Casserole, Timo Sarpaneva

Calendario Bilancia, Enzo Mari

Congo Ice Bucket, Jens Quistgaard

Maya, Tias Eckhoff

Cylinda Tea Service, Arne Jacobsen

ET44, Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs

Teema, Kaj Franck

9091 Kettle, Richard Sapper

Global Knife, Komin Yamada

Warm, Brian Keaney and Tony Alfström

  Lighting

BLI Table Lamp (Bestlite), Robert Dudley Best

Anglepoise 1227, George Carwardine

AJ Light, Arne Jacobsen

PH5, Pøul Henningsen

PH Artichoke, Pøul Henningsen

2097 Chandelier, Gino Sarfatti

Moon Lamp, Verner Panton

Arco Floor Light, A&PG Castiglioni

Spider 291, Joe Colombo

Snoopy Table Lamp, A&PG Castiglioni

FlowerPot, Verner Panton

VP Globe, Verner Panton

Spiral Triple SP3, Verner Panton

Tizio 35, Richard Sapper

Taraxacum 88 Chandelier, Achille Castiglioni

ARA, Philippe Starck

  Glass

Savoy Vase, Alvar Aalto

Nuutajärvi Notsjö, Kaj Franck

Holmegaard, Per Lütken

Orrefors

Riihimäki/Riihimäen Lasi Oy

Whitefriars Glass, Geoffrey Baxter

Venini Bolle Vases, Tapio Wirkkala

  Ceramics

Clarice Cliff

Susie Cooper

Gunnar Nylund

Royal Copenhagen

Jessie Tait

Upsala Ekeby

Stig Lindberg

Denby

Troika

Glossary

Index

Picture credits

Furniture

B3 (Wassily) Chair

Marcel Breuer

Marcel Breuer developed the B3 Chair in 1925–6, while he was head of the carpentry workshop at the celebrated Bauhaus. The B3 was to become more popularly known as the Wassily chair.

The seamless tubular steel of the Adler bicycle that he rode around Dessau in Germany first inspired Marcel Breuer to develop a range of furniture from the same material. That wish, combined with the desire to design a chair supported by a single base, a ‘cantilever chair’, led to the B3. Both functional and comfortable, Breuer’s chair was also stylish and modern. The original chair was made for just a few years before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. However, in the postwar consumer boom period there was a need for well-designed, mass-marketed furniture and the B3 went into production again, this time made by Gavina in Bologna, Italy, and distributed through Stendig. This time the B3 was marketed as the ‘Wassily’chair, a reference to Breuer’s friend the artist Wassily Kandinsky, who had received an early prototype made of canvas (or wire-mesh) fabric straps and bent nickel-led steel. In the Gavina model, the canvas/wire-mesh straps were replaced by black leather and made in chrome-plated steel.

In 1968, the New York company Knoll purchased both Gavina and the trademark to the ‘Wassily’name, but the design patent to the chair had expired. Today, while Knoll produces the official ‘Wassily chair’, other companies also make it – the B3 is one of Breuer’s most copied chairs.

Items to look out for

The original B3 models, made of canvas straps and nickel-led steel, are extremely hard to find.

If you’re buying a ‘licensed product’ look for the Knoll stamp.

Top Tips

More modern versions are made of leather and chrome-plated steel.

While it is still possible to find a Gavina-mass produced Wassily chair, most are produced by Knoll (for about £1,250/US $2,000). There are, however, cheaper versions to be found for less than £310 (US $500).

Websites

Knoll

www.knoll.com

Also See

  Isokon Long Chair, pages 22–3

LC3 sofa (Grand Confort)

Le Corbusier/Jeanneret/Perriand

A stunning example of the collaboration between Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand, the LC3, along with the LC2 and LC4, have become classics of design. The designers referred to them as ‘cushion baskets’.

The LC2 and LC3 models are among the finest examples of modernist furniture; they were Le Corbusier’s response to the more traditional club arm chair.

Immediately recognizable for its geometric form which mixes leather and tubular steel, the larger LC2 was deemed uncomfortable by critics. The LC3, by comparison, is all about comfort and has extra down-wrapped cushions pads which are held in place but are not tethered to the steel frame.

The whole feel of the LC3 is softer and much more sumptuous, even though it still retains a somewhat industrial feel through the designers’ use of high gauge tubular steel frames that are externalized. The exterior frame is slightly wedged into the arms of the sofa and this helps achieve maximum comfort. The LC3 tubular frame has chromium plating and that not only gives it a particular glossy shine, but also makes it rust proof. The chromium plating also hides the joints, giving the sofa its classic seamless appearance.

LC3 combines the elegant minimalism and industrial rationale of International Style with that of ultimate comfort. Today, the Italian company Cassina holds the license to manufacture Le Corbusier ® furniture.

Items to look out for

The LC2 is more compact in design than the LC3.

Top Tips

More modern versions are made of aniline leather and highly polished tubular stainless steel frames.

If you’re buying a ‘licensed product’ look for the Cassina stamp.

Real LC3s do not have joints on display.

Modern versions retail at about £680 (US $1,000).

Websites

Cassinawww.cassina.com

Also See

  Chaise Longue LC4, pages 14–15

Chaise Longue LC4

Le Corbusier/Jeanneret/Perriand

The Chaise Lounge LC4 was designed to evoke the design and comfort of an 18th-century daybed. Today, it is viewed as a design classic.

In 1929, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (better known as Le Corbusier), his cousin Pierre Jeanneret and the architect Charlotte Perriand unveiled the Chaise Lounge LCR at the Salon d’Automne in Paris. The LC4 was all about style and comfort. Split into three parts – a high-grade steel-coated base, curved chrome-plated frame (or cradle) and cushioned/padded leather mat and headrest – the LC4 also had an adjustable frame which allowed the user to assume a variety of poses, from fully reclining to that of being upright. The chair’s upholstered seat pad was in black leather, although today a variety of fabrics and colours are available. The design of the LC4 came to epitomize what became known as the International Style.

The chaise was produced from the late 1920s until the late 1950s. Le Corbusier in collaboration with Swiss designer Heidi Weber modified the design in 1959. The most significant adaptation was that the original elliptical tube base was replaced with a more readily available oval tube structure.

While only the Italian company Cassina makes authentic Le Corbusier ® furniture, having been granted exclusive worldwide rights in 1964 by the Fondation Le Corbusier, there are many Le Corbusier-‘inspired’models on the market today.

Items to look out for

The original Le Corbusier/Jeanneret/Perriand design has an elliptical tube base and is upholstered in black leather.

Top Tips

Only Italian company Cassina has official license to produce the LC4 and this retails at about £3,125 (US $5,000) and measures 56.4x160cm (22.2x63in). The frame is stamped with Le Corbusier’s signature. The base is always black.

A faux LC4 retails at about £600 (US $960).

Websites

Cassinawww.cassinausa.com

Also See

  LC3 (Grand Confort), pages 12–13

Barcelona Chair

Mies van der Rohe/Reich

Originally for the German Pavilion at the 1929 Ibero–American Exposition in Barcelona, the ‘Barcelona Chair’ is a design classic and can be seen in museums, homes and offices all over the world today.

Modelled on the sella curulis, the stool favoured by ancient Roman magistrates, the Barcelona Chair is the product of the collaboration between acclaimed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and interior designer Lilly Reich during the 1920s. Originally attributed solely to Mies van der Rohe, Reich’s contribution to the Barcelona chair design has been acknowledged in recent years.

In 1929, the couple designed the low, tilted chair for the German Pavilion at the international exhibition in Barcelona. The Pavilion mixed marble, brass, glass and travertine to great effect and the Barcelona Chair’s steel and leather throne-like design fitted it admirably.

The frame was originally designed to be bolted together and had an expensive pigskin leather finish on the pads. However, in 1950 with the advent of stainless steel, the chair was redesigned to incorporate a seamless metal frame and bovine leather replaced pigskin.

The chair was produced in limited quantities from the 1930s to 50s. In 1953, six years after Reich’s death, Knoll acquired van der Rohe’s rights. Although Knoll continue to manufacture the Barcelona chair with Mies van der Rohe’s name stamped on the frame, a number of excellent replicas exist on the market.

Items to look out for

The original chairs combined reflective chrome with ivory pigskin.

Top Tips

There are so many copies on the market today and the licensed Knoll version sells for upwards of £2,500 (US $4,000).

The Knoll version has a ‘KnollStudio’ logo and Mies van der Rohe’s signature stamped into the frame.

Websites

Knollwww.knoll.com

Also See

  Brno Chair (MR50), pages 18–19

Brno Chair (MR50)

Mies van der Rohe/Reich

A 20th-century design classic, the Brno Chair (model MR50) was named one of the ‘80 greatest man-made treasures of the world’ by English architecture guru Dan Cruikshank in 2005.

The MR50 is a modernist cantilever chair. It was designed by design master Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in collaboration with Lilly Reich in 1929–30 as bedroom furniture for the Tugendhat House in Brno, Czechoslovakia. It has come to be known more popularly as the Brno chair.

Building on their earlier designs and influenced by the chairs of Mart Stam, the MR50 combines clean, clear lines with comfort.

The original chair frame was made from one single piece of stainless steel which curved around into a C-shape to form the arms and legs and also bent under the seat to form the cantilever. An elegant, taut leather seat crowned the chair.

Today the chair is available in both tubular and flat steel. It is officially licensed by Knoll, who call it the Tubular Brno chair. The ‘KnollStudio’logo and Mies van der Rohe’s signature are stamped on the frame. It is produced to the original specifications but can be purchased with or without arm pads and in more than 100 fabrics and 500 colours.

Other producers also manufacture and sell chairs ‘inspired’ by Mies van der Rohe and Reich’s classic design but the official chair is made by Knoll.

Items to look out for

The original MR50 model was made in stainless steel.

If you’re buying a ‘licensed product’ look for the Knoll stamp.

Top Tips

Modern versions are available in more than 500 colours.

While it is still possible to find original chairs, the modern versions sell from £660 (US $1,050) upwards.

Websites

Knollwww.knoll.com

Also See

  Barcelona Chair, pages 16–17

41 Paimio

Alvar Aalto

The Paimio chair was designed by Alvar Aalto for the comfort of TB patients in the Paimio Sanatorium in Finland, which was completed in 1932. The chair’s seamless design has made it a desirable object for collectors.

Alvar Aalto is one of the most celebrated exponents of Scandinavian design. His work is diverse, ranging from art glass to buildings and chairs. One of the items for which the designer is most famous is the 1931 chair 41 Paimio, created as part of the Paimio Sanatorium commission. Aalto designed the building, furniture and fittings for this TB hospital, located in southwestern Finland. The building helped establish his reputation.

Aalto believed that the furnishings and surroundings were as important to the patients’ recovery as their treatment. He set out to design a building and environment that could server as a ‘medical instrument’. The sanatorium was light and had sun terraces, where the patients could relax. Aalto experimented with wood, using a pliant structure in wood to create a chair that would not just be comfortable but also would help ease a patient’s breathing. The resulting 41 Paimio was made from a single piece of moulded birch plywood bent into a closed curve with single birch cross rails. The seat was made one piece of birch plywood. Its flexi structure and angle of the seat was designed to help make a patient feel as comfortable as possible. The chair is still produced by Artek, the company that Aalto co-founded in 1935.

Items to look out for

The original Paimio can be found in museums around the world, such as the MoMA in New York.

Top Tips

Artek manufacture the 41 Paimio. It can be bought in plywood lacquered in black or white and retails for about £2,570 (US $4,110).

Websites

Artekwww.artek.fi

Also See

  Tea Trolley 901, pages 96–7

  Savoy Vase, pages 172–3

Isokon Long Chair

Marcel Breuer

Marcel Breuer is one of the most influential of early 20th-century furniture designers. The Isokon long chair helped establish his reputation and also put the English firm Isokon on the world design map.

A 1930s’Isokon sales leaflet describes Marcel Breuer’s elegant Isokon Long Chair as ‘shaped to the human body. It fits you everywhere… These chairs have all the beauty of right design. Their lines express ease, comfort and well-being.’

Breuer designed the chair shortly after his arrival in England in 1935. Influenced by Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius who went on to consult for the English company Isokon, Breuer came to work for the firm. Encouraged by Gropius to experiment in plywood and Isokon owner Jack Pritchard to develop a chair based on his earlier 1932 aluminium lounge chair for a mass market audience, Breuer came up with the idea of making a chair that would fit or mould the human form. The subsequent Long Chair had an bent frame of laminated birch wood which supported a shaped timber seat and back. While the frames for the prototype were made in London, the bent seats came pre-made from the Venesta Plywood Company in Estonia. Along with the plywood chairs of Alvar Aalto, the Long Chair’is one of the earliest examples of ‘organic’ plywood furniture. It is credited with influencing such designers as Charles and Ray Eames in the postwar period.

Items to look out for

The original models are rare and hard to get hold of but Isokon Plus makes modern reproductions.

The early models had a mortise and tenon joint.

Top Tips

Websites

Modern versions are available in birch, oak or walnut (£1,532/US $2,450) or Bute (£2,022/US $3,235) with an optional seat pad in a variety of fabrics.

Also See

  B3 (Wassily) Chair, pages 10–11; Loop Table, pages 90–1

Penguin Donkey

Egon Riss

Designed by Egon Riss in 1939 for Isokon, the Penguin Donkey is a much sought-after piece of furniture. Only 100 of the original design were made.

The brainchild of Jack Pritchard who drew on his previous experience in the plywood business to build up what became one of the most forward-thinking design companies in Britain at the time, Isokon employed Egon Riss, a Viennese architect. Together with Pritchard, Riss designed the ‘Donkey’, so named because of its four legs and two panniers.