Finn Juhl "Spade" Chair, 1950s
View Similar Items
Finn Juhl "Spade" Chair, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Finn Juhl (Designer),France & Søn (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 34 in (86.36 cm)Width: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)Depth: 31 in (78.74 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Houston, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU85066298643
Finn Juhl
Along with Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen and Børge Mogensen, Finn Juhl was one of the great masters of mid-20th-century Danish design. Juhl was the first among that group to have his work promoted overseas, bringing the character of the nation’s furnishings — and the inherent principles of grace, craftsmanship and utility on which they were based — to an international audience. A stylistic maverick, Juhl embraced expressive, free-flowing shapes in chair and sofa designs much earlier than his colleagues, yet even his quietest pieces incorporate supple, curving forms that are at once elegant and ergonomic.
As a young man, Juhl hoped to become an art historian, but his father steered him into a more practical course of study in architecture. He began designing furniture in the late 1930s, a discipline in which, despite his education, Juhl was self-taught, and quite proud of the fact. His earliest works, designed in the late 1930s, are perhaps his most idiosyncratic. The influence of contemporary art is clear in Juhl's 1939 Pelican chair: an almost Surrealist take on the classic wing chair. Critics reviled the piece, however; one said it looked like a "tired walrus." Juhl had tempered his creativity by 1945, when the Danish furniture-making firm Niels Vodder began to issue his designs. Yet his now-classic NV 45 armchair still demonstrates panache, with a seat that floats above the chair’s teak frame.
Juhl first exhibited his work in the United States in 1950, championed by Edgar Kaufmann Jr., an influential design critic and scion of America’s most prominent family of modern architecture and design patrons. (Kaufmann’s father commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright’s design of the house “Fallingwater.”) Juhl quickly won a following for such signature designs as the supremely comfortable Chieftan lounge chair, the biomorphic Baker sofa, and the Judas table, a piece ornamented with stylish inlaid silver plaquettes.
As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, Finn Juhl’s furniture — as well as his lighting, ceramics, tableware and accessories — has an air of relaxed sophistication and elegance that is unique in the realm of mid-20th-century design.
France & Søn
Danish manufacturer France & Søn is best known for its prolific output of elegant mid-century modern furnishings in teak and leather, yet its multinational beginnings took shape during the 1930s.
After businessman Charles William Fearnley France (1897–1972) moved from his native England to Denmark in 1936, he began to operate a small mattress factory alongside his friend Eric Daverkosen, a Danish cabinetmaker, under the name France & Daverkosen. Shortly afterward, Daverkosen passed away, and when Denmark was invaded during the Second World War, Charles was captured and sent to a prison camp in Germany. When he was released, the British entrepreneur set out to produce furniture in the early 1950s, setting up a shop in Hillerød to manufacture the kind of sleek beech and teak goods that were gaining widespread acclaim around the world. In 1957, France’s son James joined the business, and the company changed its name to reflect the addition.
Throughout the ’50s and ’60s, France & Søn produced a stunning array — and staggering quantity — of designs, with elegant modernist lounge chairs and armchairs, teak and rosewood dining tables and other furnishings by the likes of Finn Juhl, Grete Valk, Ole Wanscher, Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen all gracing its catalogues.
Even as there was a focus on mass production at France & Søn — and the brand doesn’t quite enjoy the same renown as fellow mid-century Danish furniture makers such as Carl Hansen & Søn — Charles France believed in making quality furniture, and the company’s offerings evoke the warmth of the handcrafted work that is typically associated with Scandinavian modernism.
In the 1960s, the company was bought by Danish designer Poul Cadovius, who folded it into the operations at CADO, a company he founded during the 1950s. Surviving examples of early work from the brand as well as modern icons by the likes of Verner Panton that followed in later years continue to be in demand.
Find a collection of France & Søn furniture on 1stDibs.
- Eero Saarinen vintage Womb Chair and Ottoman for KnollBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Houston, TXEero Saarinen Knoll International USA 1946 upholstery, painted steel chair: 35 h × 41 w × 35 d inches Vintage Eero Saarinen womb chair and ottoman for Knoll...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Early version Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair and Ottoman for Fritz HansenBy Arne Jacobsen, Fritz HansenLocated in Houston, TXArne Jacobsen Chair and ottoman Fritz Hansen Denmark, 1958 Leather, cast aluminum, plastic 34 d x 32 d x 42 h inches Foil label to base.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Afra and Tobia Scarpa Soriana lounge chair and ottoman for CassinaBy Afra & Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Houston, TXAfra and Tobia Scarpa Soriana lounge chair and ottoman Cassina Italy, 1970s leather, chrome-plated steel, plastic chair: 26 h × 36 w × 52 d in ottoman: 15 h × 31 w × 36 d in Match...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBouclé
- Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier LC3 lounge chair for CassinaBy Cassina, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand CassinaLocated in Houston, TXCharlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier LC3 lounge chair Cassina France / Italy, 1928 / c. 1995 mohair, chrome-plated steel 24 h × 39 w × 29 d inCategory
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Poul Kjærholm PK 33 Stool for E. Kold Christensen, Original Condition, 1959By Poul Kjærholm, E. Kold ChristensenLocated in Houston, TXPoul Kjærholm, original condition. PK 33 stool. E. Kold Christensen, Denmark, 1959. Matte, chrome-plate spring steel with patinated, laminated wood...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Stools
MaterialsSteel
- Dining Chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, Set of Six, 1950sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Houston, TXEdward Wormley, two armchairs, and four side chairs. Dunbar, USA. Mahogany and leather. Signed with applied gold rectangular metal manufacturer's label to the seat bottom [Dunb...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
- Early Model Finn Juhl for France & Søn Lounge Chair in TeakBy France & Søn, Finn JuhlLocated in Waalwijk, NLFinn Juhl for France & Søn, lounge chair early model '136', teak, fabric upholstery, Denmark, 1959. Very honest and open design by the Danish architect and designer Finn Juhl. As a...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Teak
- Midentury "Japan" Lounge Chairs and Ottoman, Finn Juhl, Denmark, 1950sBy France & Søn, Finn JuhlLocated in Stockholm, SEPair of elegant “Japan” lounge chairs, made from teak with clean lines. White wool upholstery. Shared ottoman with cognac colored leather.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Teak
- Early Model Finn Juhl for France & Søn Pair of Lounge Chairs in TeakBy France & Søn, Finn JuhlLocated in Waalwijk, NLFinn Juhl for France & Søn, pair of lounge chairs early model '136', teak, fabric upholstery, Denmark, 1959. Very honest and open design by the Danish architect and designer Finn J...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Teak
- Spade Chair Designed by Finn JuhlBy Finn JuhlLocated in Stamford, CTA France and Sons chair designed by Finn Juhl. Known as the "Spade Chair". Model FD 133. this is ebonized model retains its label. Finn Juhl fi...Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWood
- Finn Juhl Danish Rosewood Spade Chair, circa 1960sBy Finn JuhlLocated in London, GBFinn Juhl - Spade Chair, 1954 Designed in 1954 the Model 133 ‘Spadestolen’ was Juhl's first collaboration with Danish producer France & Son. The frame was originally made in teak wi...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Rosewood
- Chair, Finn Juhl, Black Painted Oak, House of Finn Juhl, Model 108By Finn JuhlLocated in Lejre, DKModel 108 Chair, designed by Finn Juhl in black painted oak with black elegance leather of the highest quality produced by the House of Finn Juhl. Finn Juhl'...Category
Early 2000s Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsOak