Tag Archives: showme

The Melvins

This wonderfully retro pair of solid maple chairs were rescued from a fateful demise after the closing of an Omaha, Nebraska public library.  One still maintains its original paper label with date and manufacturer, and the existing minor wear cannot help but conjure memories of elementary school days.  While utilitarian in original purpose, these comfortable chairs show a strong mid-century aesthetic, with sharply splayed back legs which continue their angle upwards to support the back rest.   These chairs are extra sturdy and strikingly heavy, however, every corner is gently rounded and easy to grip.  Both have been refinished in a clear semi-gloss top-coat.

Price including shipping or delivery: $800.00

Dimensions: 18.5”W x 21”D x 32”H

Seat Height: 18″

Condition: Very Good.

 

Please contact us for more information or to purchase.

 

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Dolores

This sturdy Mid-Century gal was produced in Bedford Ohio sometime before 1965 when The Marble Chair Company became The Marble Imperial Furniture Company (original label still affixed to the underside of the chair).  The Marble family had a long history of furniture making and upon establishing their own company in 1885 quickly became experts in office chairs.  Alas the company liquidated in 1985, exactly 100 years after their founding and the four acres of brick buildings they occupied since 1921 fell into disrepair and was later demolished.  Luckily Dolores lived to see another day.

Price including shipping or local delivery: $825.00

Dimensions: 33″W x23″D x 31″H

Seat Height: 18″

Arm Height: 27″

Fabric Content:

Condition: Excellent.

Please contact us for more information or to purchase.

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The Franzes

These Four Bentwood armchairs depart from the standard and amazingly successful 1859 ‘cafe’ chair also designed by the brilliant Michael Thonet of Vienna.  With an upholstered seat and back as well as arms, this set feels markedly more substantial and comfortable.  Not to knock the ‘cafe’ chair, one of the best (if not THE best) selling chairs of all time, due to their ingenious design that could be flat packed and shipped and then easily assembled by any handyman or waiter upon arrival (the first of its kind).  This set was manufactured a good century later yet still embodies the design simplicity and elegance of the very first Bentwoods.

Price including shipping or delivery as is: $900.00 for the set

Dimensions: 20.5″W x 21.5″D x 32″ H

Seat Height: 18″

Arm Height: 25.5″

Wood Species: Beech

Condition: Very Good.  Original wood finish with minor scuffs and discoloration throughout.   Original foam and cotton batting seats.  Currently covered in original vinyl, worn and stained.

 

Please contact us for details and pricing for refinishing and upholstery, or to purchase as is.

 

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Isolde

Hearkening back to the early days of furniture design, Isolde is a wonderfully Victorian rendition of an Baroque chair that would have proudly occupied the head of a communal table in a great hall back in the 17th century.  This mid-19th century version is scaled down with a slightly less grand presence, but makes up for its more human scale in elaborate carvings and elegant turnings.

 

Price including shipping or local delivery, as is, no refinishing or upholstery: $550.00

Dimensions: 19.5″W x 21″D x 43″ H

Seat Height: 17.5″

Wood Species: Oak

Condition: Excellent.  Very minor wear to wood.  Original horsehair and vintage cotton batting seat.  Currently unupholstered.

Please contact us for details and pricing for refinishing and upholstery, or to purchase as is.

 

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Melvin

Melvin is a classic late 50s guy, at the home in the office or the home office.  A perfect desk or accent chair, this piece was designed by mid-century great John Van Koert for Drexel’s ‘Profile’ line.  It is a wonderful example of ‘Space Age’ design creeping into Mid-Century Modernism with its futuristic back shape; a design element that would surely be well suited to the Jetsons compound.

ABIGALE & ARABELLA

There are so many lovely details on this pair one does not know where to begin.  Eastlake would surely be proud of these two with their bold and bulbous turned front legs, restrained curling back, and delicate pierced carvings and etchings.  Abigale & Arabella are wonderful examples of high, late Victorian style.  There is a decidedly oriental flair to them, with their black lacquer finish, upright back and screen-like carvings.  This ode to the Orient and all things artistic was a highly desirable style in the time, part of the Aesthetic Movement, a reaction against the excess of the Victorian revival styles that became increasingly cluttered and busy.  And who was I to go against the intense interest in all things Japonaise?  The maze motif on velvet would certainly have met with late Victorian artistic taste.

 

Price including shipping or local delivery: $1,950.00 for the pair, sorry not sold individually

Dimensions: 20” W x 18” D x 34” H

Seat Height: 17.5”

Fabric Content: Velvet, 60% polyester, 40% viscose.

Condition: Excellent, minor wear to the wood lacquer finish.

Please contact us for more information or to purchase.

 

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Johnnie

Johnnie’s perfectly angled brass capped walnut legs allow for a generously upholstered platform to rest ones tired bones at the end of a long day.  Not to mention the  perfect extra seat at a sophisticated cocktail party, or the most rowdy of children’s birthdays, since he is clad in a hearty Sunbrella fabric meant to weather the elements.

 

Price including shipping or local delivery: $495

Dimensions: 16” W x 24” D x 15” H

Fabric Content: 100% Sunbrella Acrylic.

Condition: Excellent.

Please contact us for more information or to purchase.

 

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Frankie

Feisty Frankie’s silhouette epitomizes Mid-Century Modernism with its simple symmetry and smooth, splayed walnut legs.  A jolt of citrus orange upholstery gives a healthy link Frankie’s origins (very possibly propping up the boots of a lounge-lizard circa 1955) but also allows him to exist in any elegant interior today, granted with a punch of character.

 

Price including shipping or local delivery: $475

Dimensions: 18” W x 18” D x 15” H

Fabric Content: Terratex 100% Recycled Polyester.

Condition: Excellent.

Please contact us for more information or to purchase.

 

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ABIGALE

A treasured family heirloom, Abigale is quite the Victorian lady.  However, she was in dire need of a fresh cloak that reflected her true style.  The delicate carving (in excellent condition all around) at the armrests and knees speak to the elegance and high quality of the overall design and form.  She surely would have been very much at home in any formal ladies parlor any day of the week in 1880-ish.

Donna

Donna’s elegantly splayed legs and curved arms give her a simple, yet highly appealing silhouette.  A classic piece of Mid-Century Modernism, she is also clad in classic Mid-Century texture.  A green-blue coarse weave is the perfect foil to Donna’s sleek, ruddy warm wood limbs.