Franco Albini Tables
Italian, 1905-1977
While working under the polymath Gio Ponti — arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian modernism — furniture designer Franco Albini nurtured a love for modern forms combined with traditional craft techniques.
Albini is widely known for working with organic materials such as rattan and cane for his chairs and other seating, but he also played a pivotal role in the Italian rationalist movement of the early 20th century, which saw architects and furniture makers applying a strict emphasis on geometry in their work. Rationalists drew on Ancient Roman architecture but rejected ornament, much in the way that Le Corbusier and celebrated Bauhaus figures such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe had in their modernist furniture.
Albini received his degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1929, and, in 1931, he founded his practice in Milan, where he tackled workers’ housing and other reconstruction projects. A gifted urban planner, he also developed the Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Rosso and Tesoro di San Lorenzo museums in Genoa. While Albini is revered for his Margherita chair — a Triennale Milano award winner created for Bonacina in 1951 — he also collaborated with manufacturers Poggi and Cassina in the 1940s on seating, tables and more that embodied his artistic vision. Of that mid-century work, the one piece that perhaps best captures this vision is the iconic Luisa chair.
With its cherry red upholstery and sinuous wooden legs that seem to float aboveground, the Luisa is a genuine masterpiece. It is also a testament to Albini’s perfectionism, as it endured several prototypes — including one made by Knoll in the late 1940s — and took approximately 15 years to design. Poggi launched the final version of the armchair in 1955, earning Albini the prestigious Compasso d’Oro from Italy’s Association for Industrial Design. It is produced today by Cassina. Albini named the chair for someone who likely saw the process firsthand: his personal secretary of two decades, Luisa Colombini.
Find vintage Franco Albini furniture on 1stDibs.
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Creator: Franco Albini
Tavolo a Cavalletto 'TL2' Franco Albini per Poggi anni 50s
By Franco Albini
Located in Milano, IT
Tavolo a cavalletto modello 'TL2' disegnato da Franco Albini e prodotto da Poggi a partire dagli anni '50. Segnalato al
Compasso d'oro, questo tavolo ha come caratteristica principal...
Category
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Wood
Franco Albini Table 840 Stadera Wood and Steel by Cassina
By Cassina, Franco Albini
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Table designed by Franco Albini in 1954.
Manufactured by Cassina in Italy.
This table/writing desk, designed by Franco Albini consists of two trapezoidal planes, one smaller than th...
Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Steel
Franco Albini for Poggi Dining Table in Walnut
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Franco Albini for Poggi, dining table, model TL2, walnut and iron, Italy, 1951.
The TL2 table by Franco Albini features a simplistic and sleek design. Executed in darkened walnut wo...
Category
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Iron
Early Franco Albini for Knoll Model '80' Desk
By Knoll, Franco Albini
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Franco Albini for Knoll, model 80, glass, lacquered wood, lacquered steel, Italy, 1949
Franco Albini’s model 80 desk combines glass, steel and wood which resu...
Category
1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Chrome
Franco Albini Cavalletto Table, Black Stained Wood by Cassina
By Cassina, Franco Albini
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Table designed by Franco Albini in 1950. Relaunched in 2008.
Manufactured by Cassina in Italy.
This table, with its minimal lines and an extremely light look, underscores the extens...
Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Metal
Franco Albini Tl3 Table, Black Dyed Wood and Glass by Cassina
By Cassina, Franco Albini
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Table designed by Franco Albini in 1953. Relaunched in 2013.
Manufactured by Cassina in Italy.
Franco Albini designed this table using the strut element that he had already employed in the design of the Veliero and Infinito bookshelves. In this instance, the legs serve as the vertical elements, solid, turned along their entire surface except for the square section onto which the horizontal table...
Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Glass, Wood
Franco Albini Cavalletto Table, Wood by Cassina
By Cassina, Franco Albini
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Table designed by Franco Albini in 1950. Relaunched in 2008.
Manufactured by Cassina in Italy.
This table, with its minimal lines and an extremely light look, underscores the ext...
Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Metal
Franco Albini Cavalletto Table for Cassina, Italy, new
By Franco Albini, Cassina
Located in Berlin, DE
Available in Canaletto Walnut, natural ash and black stained ash. Prices vary dependent on the chosen material/finish.
Table designed by Franco Albini in 1950. Relaunched in 2008...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Metal
Franco Albini TL3 Table, Wood and Glass by Cassina
By Cassina, Franco Albini
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Table designed by Franco Albini in 1953. Relaunched in 2013.
Manufactured by Cassina in Italy.
Franco Albini designed this table using the strut element that he had already employed in the design of the Veliero and Infinito bookshelves. In this instance, the legs serve as the vertical elements, solid, turned along their entire surface except for the square section onto which the horizontal table...
Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Glass, Wood
Franco Albini Table 840 Stadera Wood and Steel by Cassina
By Cassina, Franco Albini
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Table designed by Franco Albini in 1954.
Manufactured by Cassina in Italy.
This table/writing desk, designed by Franco Albini consists of two trapezoidal planes, one smaller than...
Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Steel
Franco Albini 840 Stadera Wood and Steel Table for Cassina, Italy, new
By Cassina, Franco Albini
Located in Berlin, DE
The price given applies to the piece as shown in the first picture. Prices vary dependent on the model/finish of the table.
Table designed by Franco Albini in 1954. Manufactured by...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Steel
Franco Albini TL30 Round Table in Metal and Wood for Poggi Pavia 1950s Italy
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in Montecatini Terme, IT
Round table model TL30 with black lacquered metal base and a wooden top.
Designed by Franco Albini for Poggi, Pavia in 1950s.
After spending his childhood and part of his youth in Robbiate in Brianza, where he was born in 1905, Franco Albini moved with his family to Milan. Here he enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture of the Polytechnic and graduated in 1929. He starts his professional activity in the studio of Gio Ponti and Emilio Lancia, with whom he collaborates for three years. He probably had his first international contacts here
In those three years, the works carried out are admittedly of a twentieth-century imprint. It was the meeting with Edoardo Persico that marked a clear turning point towards rationalism and the rapprochement with the group of editors of “Casabella”.
The new phase that that meeting provoked starts with the opening of the first professional studio in via Panizza with Renato Camus and Giancarlo Palanti. The group of architects began to deal with public housing by participating in the competition for the Baracca neighborhood in San Siro in 1932 and then creating the Ifacp neighborhoods: Fabio Filzi (1936/38), Gabriele D’Annunzio and Ettore Ponti (1939).
Also in those years Albini worked on his first villa Pestarini.
But it is above all in the context of the exhibitions that the Milanese master experiments his compromise between that “rigor and poetic fantasy” coining the elements that will be a recurring theme in all the declinations of his work – architecture, interiors, design pieces . The opening in 1933 of the new headquarters of the Triennale in Milan, in the Palazzo dell’Arte, becomes an important opportunity to express the strong innovative character of rationalist thought, a gym in which to freely experiment with new materials and new solutions, but above all a “method”.
Together with Giancarlo Palanti, Albini on the occasion of the V Triennale di Milano sets up the steel structure house, for which he also designs the ‘furniture. At the subsequent Triennale of 1936, marked by the untimely death of Persico, together with a group of young designers gathered by Pagano in the previous edition of 1933, Franco Albini takes care of the preparation of the exhibition of the house, in which the furniture of three types of accommodation. The staging of Stanza per un uomo, at that same Triennale, allows us to understand the acute and ironic approach that is part of Albini, as a man and as a designer: the theme addressed is that of the existenzminimum and the reference of the project is to the fascist myth of the athletic and sporty man, but it is also a way to reflect on low-cost housing, the reduction of surfaces to a minimum and respect for the way of living.
In that same year Albini and Romano designed the Ancient Italian Goldsmith’s Exhibition: vertical uprights, simple linear rods, design the space. A theme, that of the “flagpole”, which seems to be the center of the evolution of his production and creative process. The concept is reworked over time, with the technique of decomposition and recomposition typical of Albinian planning: in the setting up of the Scipio Exhibition and of contemporary drawings (1941) the tapered flagpoles, on which the paintings and display cases are hung, are supported by a grid of steel cables; in the Vanzetti stand (1942) they take on the V shape; in the Olivetti store in Paris (1956) the uprights in polished mahogany support the shelves for displaying typewriters and calculators. The reflection on this theme arises from the desire to interpret the architectural space, to read it through the use of a grid, to introduce the third dimension, the vertical one, while maintaining a sense of lightness and transparency.
The flagpole is found, however, also in areas other than the exhibition ones. In the apartments he designed, it is used as a pivot on which the paintings can be suspended and rotated to allow different points of view, but at the same time as an element capable of dividing spaces. The Veliero bookcase...
Category
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Metal
Rare Mahogany 'TL2' Cavalletto Table / Desk by Franco Albini for Poggi, Italy
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in London, GB
A rare mahogany version of the Cavaletto or TL2 table designed by the great neo-rationalist designer, Franco Albini. Designed in 1950 for manufacturers Poggi...
Category
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Tables
Materials
Steel
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Desk Model TL22, by Franco Albini and Franca Helg. Poggi, 1958
By Amando Poggi, Franco Albini and Franca Helg
Located in Wolfurt, AT
Desk model TL22, designed by Franco Albini and Franca Helg and manufactured by Poggi in 1958.
Table completely restored. Wood: walnut.
Letteratura: Gramigna G., Repertorio del desig...
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Franco Albini Rosewood Mid-Century Modern “LB7” Modular Bookcase for Poggi, 1957
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in Vicenza, IT
LB7 bookcase, designed by Franco Albini and manufactured by Poggi in 1957.
Modular bookstore composed by upholds, containers with flying and doors, shelve. The industrial standard for every product component allows permanent and different solutions, from the bearing structures to the elements. The structure does not need anchorages to the wall and can be placed in the middle of the space.
This set is composed of 3 modules, ten shelves, and three containers.
It is made of Rosewood, iron, and brass.
Excellent vintage condition.
Franco Albini was born in Robbiate in 1905, and after his childhood and part of his youth, he moved to Milan.
He graduated at Politecnico of Milan, Faculty of Architecture, in 1929, and He collaborated for three years in Giò Ponti and Emilio Lancia’s office. He probably had his international contacts here, at The International Exposition of 1929 in Barcelona and Paris, where he visited le Corbusier’s office, as Franca Helg used to tell.
Throughout these first three years, his works were undoubtedly related to XIXth Century. His meeting with Edoardo Persico marks an evident turnover towards rationalism and writers for “Casabella” magazine. Persico’s thoughtful and ironical comments on some of Albini’s drawings for office furniture caused him deep upsetting. “I spent days of real anxiety – tells Albini – I had to answer all questions. I had a long fever”.
The new phase that the meeting provoked begins with opening his own first office at Via Panizza with Renato Camus and Giancarlo Palanti. The group of Architects starts taking care of social housing, participating in the competition for the Baracca neighborhood in 1932, and then realizing the Ifacp neighborhood: Fabio Filzi (1936/38), Gabriele D’Annunzio, and Ettore Ponti (1939).
During those years, He also worked for his first private villa (Pestarini).
It is mainly in the context of exhibitions that the Italian architect experiments the compromise between rigor and poetic fantasy that Pagano was talking about; He conceived all the elements that would become recurrent in all types of his work – Architecture, Interiors, Design. The 1933 opening of the new Triennale of Milano, in Palazzo dell’Arte, becomes an occasion to express the highly innovative character of rationalist thinking. In this place, to experiment with new materials and solutions, but most of all a “method”.
Young rationalist architects cultivated the art of exhibiting as a communication lab, an open field to space solutions.
Albini, with Giancarlo Palanti, sets the steel structure house (with R. Camus, G. Mazzoleni, G. Minoletti and coordination by G. Pagano) designing also its furniture. For the next Triennale in 1936, marked by Persico’s early death, Franco Albini, together with a group of young architects around Pagano, takes care of the exhibition of Dwelling, where he presented 3 types of lodgings.
In the same year, Albini and Romano design the exhibition for Ancient Italian jewelry: vertical uprights, simple linear poles design space. This element is recurring in other works, like the Scipione exhibition (1941), Vanzetti stand (1942), and Olivetti shop in Paris (1956). The architectural space is readable through a grid, introducing a third dimension, the vertical one, with a sense of lightness and transparency.
Upright is also used in design objects, such as the Veliero bookcase...
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1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Tables
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Brass, Iron
H 109.45 in W 104.34 in D 13.78 in
Florence Knoll Model 17 Desk
By Florence Knoll, Knoll
Located in Saint Paul, MN
Alongside the model 75 stool, this desk was part of Florence Knoll's first collection of designs. The louvre drawers follows the same design language used in a variety of casegoods s...
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Franco Albini Cicognino Wood Side Table for Cassina, Italy, new
By Cassina, Franco Albini
Located in Berlin, DE
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Wood Dining Table, Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina, Italy 1980s
By Cassina, Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Located in Ceglie Messapica, IT
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ARC Desk in Bleached Maple Veneer and Black Stained Interior by Estudio Persona
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Arc desk made from wood with a bleached maple veneer finish and black stained interior.
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H 30 in W 59 in D 30 in
Frank Lloyd Wright “608 Taliesin” Dining Table for Cassina, 1986
By Cassina, Frank Lloyd Wright
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Frank Lloyd Wright “608 Taliesin” dining table for Cassina, walnut, Italy, 1986.
This dining table was designed for the Kansas governor and state senator Henry J. Allen in 1917. Rec...
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Franco Albini Cavalletto Table for Cassina, Italy, new
By Franco Albini, Cassina
Located in Berlin, DE
Available in Canaletto Walnut, natural ash and black stained ash. Prices vary dependent on the chosen material/finish.
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Located in Praha 2, Hlavní město Praha
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Date of manufacture: 1930s
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Material: Chrome-plated steel, Wood
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Cassina Dining Table 'Capri' in Black Metal and Glass
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Franco Albini TL2 Cavalletto table Poggi Italy 1950
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Previously Available Items
Tavolo Cavalletto TL2, Franco Albini, Poggi
By Franco Albini
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Remarkable project in the history of Italian design, Rosewood table, steel pulls, removable, produced by Poggi. The table has been restored.
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1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Tables
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Franco Albini Cavalletto Table, Black Stained Wood by Cassina
By Cassina, Franco Albini
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Table designed by Franco Albini in 1950. Relaunched in 2008.
Manufactured by Cassina in Italy.
This table, with its minimal lines and an extremely light look, underscores the ext...
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Tavolo Cavalletto TL2, Franco Albini, Poggi
By Franco Albini
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Remarkable project in the history of Italian design, Rosewood table, steel pulls, removable, produced by Poggi. The table has been restored.
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Franco Albini for Knoll Post Modern Desk
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Franco Albini, Pair of Side Tables TN6 "Cicogna" 1950s
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Located in Paris, FR
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20th century Franco Albini Pair of TN6 "Cicogna" coffee tables in wood. First edition for Poggi.
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Franco Albini Poggi Wood Steel Desk Mod. Stadera Italy 1958 Excellent Patina
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Located in Catania, IT
This Stadera desk/table designed by Franco Albini was manufactured by Poggi in Italy in 1958.
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H 28.75 in W 56.3 in D 32.68 in
Iconic Franco Albini Table
By Franco Albini
Located in Piacenza, Italy
Iconic table TL2 designed by Franco Albini for Poggi Pavia in 1955.
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Franco Albini’s Crystal, Wood and Chromed Steel Tubolar Desk, 1928 Design
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Located in IT
Franco Albini’s desk designed in 1928 combines glass, steel and wood, immediately recognizable here is Albini’s rationalist design philosophy and Minimalist aesthetic. Top is polish...
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H 27.56 in W 48.04 in L 27.56 in
Franco Albini Midcentury Walnut Trestle Table Foldable from 1950s
By Franco Albini
Located in Milano, IT
Rare trestle table by Franco Albini from 1950. The table is made entirely of walnut wood. Its legs, made in an X-shape, close easily towards the inside to allow its complete closure ...
Category
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Tables
Materials
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Franco Albini "TL22" Oval Dining Table
By Succ. Carlo Poggi, Franco Albini
Located in Milan, IT
Franco Albini "TL22" oval dining table.
Category
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Tables
Materials
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Franco Albini - Dining Table
By Franco Albini
Located in San Francisco, CA
Designed by Franco Albini, Italy, in the 1950s, for Poggi, Pavia, Italy, made of walnut. This table, which was never produced in series, was designed together with the “Luisa” chairs...
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1950s Italian Vintage Franco Albini Tables
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Franco Albini tables for sale on 1stDibs.
Franco Albini tables are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Franco Albini tables, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 5 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 8 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original tables by Franco Albini were created in the mid-century modern style in italy during the 21st century and contemporary. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider tables by Ico Parisi, Tobia Scarpa, and Vittorio Dassi. Prices for Franco Albini tables can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $3,141 and can go as high as $12,632, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $5,029.
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