buy & sel l
Mid-Century Modern Furniture What signs should you look for in uncovering furniture gems from the center of the last century?
By Michael and James Fry
Eames chair on display at JCCC in the new Regnier Center/ Nerman Museum. Photo by James Fry.
O
plywood molding while designing sets for MGM. Learning of their work, the U.S. Navy commissioned them to make lightweight ply- wood splints and stretchers that were used in World War II. With their molding technique perfected, the Eames’ built their first plywood chair in 1946. This piece is now considered a work of art and an iconic example of Mid- Century Modern design. TIME Magazine has recognized this chair as the “Best Design of the 20 th Century.” Examples of Eames chairs are on display at Kansas City’s own Nelson- Atkins Museum of Art as well as the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The Eames chair, and others like it, ushered in a new design era termed mid-century modern. Mid-century modern design sprang from the post World War II industrialization boom and continued through the mid- 1960s. During this time there were sweep- ing changes in architecture, graphic design, and industrial design most characterized by functional form and simple, clean lines.
Designers worked to be less formal, opting instead for organic, geometric designs. This modern style permeated the look of the time including residential housing, furni- ture and home décor. In addition to Charles and Ray Eames, other notable mid-century designers include Eero Saarinen (tulip chair, Gateway Arch in St Louis), Arne Jacobsen (egg and ant chairs) and Paul McCobb (Planner Group furniture, electronics). It has only been in the last couple of years that the mid-century aesthetic has again gained mainstream popularity and its trendiness is growing. Just this past year Better Homes and Gardens featured a mid-century fiberglass rocker on one of its covers. If a magazine with a readership of 39 million people displays 1950s style then you know the trend has moved beyond the fringes. This is both positive and negative for vintage collectors and resellers. The rise in popularity means a growing number of people will dust off their mid-century items
ne of the best things about being in the estate sale industry is getting to put our hands on items that hold a historical or cultural significance. We
have a wish list of items to sell. Yes, sell, not own. (OK, maybe own, too.) We’d dig it out of a dark, dusty back corner of a basement, unveil it to the world and then pass it along to be used and loved by someone in our commu- nity who will appreciate its significance. From Herman Miller fiberglass chairs to Singer Featherweight machines, Toledo drafting stools to Pyrex percolators, each item that we sell ups the ante for what we want to handle next. And at the top of the list is an Eames molded plywood chair. The Eames molded plywood chair was de- veloped by Charles & Ray Eames and is pro- duced by Herman Miller to this day. The chair construction went against the conventional furniture designs of its time that were mostly big, heavy and upholstered. During the early 1940s Charles and Ray experimented with
Don’t know if you’re getting your money’s worth? Having trouble pricing or finding a good deal on an item? Tell us about it at erin@vintagekcmag.com.
VintageKC / Summer 2012 6
Made with FlippingBook HTML5