Walter Knoll Tables

German

Inspired by the Bauhaus — founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius — Walter Knoll decided to bet big on modernism. He launched his eponymous German furniture maker in 1925, and the company has been going strong ever since.

Most design lovers are familiar with Knoll, the manufacturer of furniture by Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and other modernist giants. It was founded by Hans Knoll in 1941 and led after his death by his wife, Florence Knoll, the doyenne of postwar American office interiors. In recent years, the company has added collections by Maya Lin, Rem Koolhaas, Frank Gehry and David Adjaye, among others, and encouraged customers to do what some of them had been doing all along: use Knoll’s “office furniture” at home.

Fewer Americans are familiar with Walter Knoll, the company Hans’s father founded in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1925 and later moved to nearby Herrenberg. That company has existed in the shadow of the larger U.S.-based Knoll for decades.

Both companies descended from the German manufacturer of ornate leather goods established by Wilhelm Knoll in 1866. In 1907, Wilhelm’s sons, Willy and Walter, took over the father’s business and started producing leather club chairs. Five years later, the company introduced its Nestra line of stripped-down wood and leather seating, foreshadowing the family’s future innovations.

In 1925, when he was 50, Walter Knoll launched the Walter Knoll Company, which soon released the revolutionary Prodomo line of chairs, whose upholstered seats and backs are supported by tubular metal frames. Other lightweight Walter Knoll pieces were used in the passenger compartment of the Hindenburg zeppelin.

In 1927, Walter Knoll furnished five apartments designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for the Weissenhof Estate, 21 prototypes of “workers’ housing of the future” constructed as part of an exhibition in Stuttgart. A decade later, Walter’s son Hans, then 24, traveled to the United States to market his father’s furniture and to make a new life for himself in the New World. But inspired by his encounters with Jens Risom — a Danish-born designer who furthered Scandinavian modernism in the United States — Hans broke away from Walter, creating Knoll Associates (now known simply as Knoll). Florence Schust (later to become Hans’s wife) joined him in the company in 1943, and soon they were working with mid-century modern icons such as Saarinen and Bertoia on new designs and licensing Mies’s Barcelona chair.

After the war, with his factories destroyed and labor and materials in short supply, Walter Knoll turned to Hans for help. Hans sent over several pieces from his Vostra line, designed by Risom. Walter replaced the web seats with upholstery and launched his version of the Vostra at the New Living exhibition in Cologne in 1949. It became hugely successful, persuading many Germans still accustomed to traditional furniture to give modernism a go.

Walter Knoll retired in 1964, but his namesake firm continued growing in Germany. Just like the American Knoll, Walter Knoll has found that some customers want to use pieces originally meant as office furniture in their houses. In fact, these pieces give living and dining rooms a crispness that almost no residential furniture can match.

Find vintage Walter Knoll lounge chairs, sofas, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.

Creator: Walter Knoll

10 Preben Fabricius and Jorgen Kastlhom FK armchairs with a Matteo Grassi table

By Jørgen Kastholm & Preben Fabricius, Walter Knoll

Located in Highclere, Newbury

An exceptional set of 10 Preben Fabricius and Jørgen Kastholm limited edition cognac leather FK6728 armchairs matched to a large an impressive Matteo Grassi cream leather and glass dining table. The price shown is for all 10 chairs and the table including the glass top. Originally designed by powerhouse 1960s design team Preben Fabricius and Jørgen Kastholm in 1964, their ‘Tulip’ chair has become an icon of Mid Century Danish design. The actual original name for this chair that was produced by Kill International is ‘The Bucket Chair’ and it is still produced today by Walter Knoll under that name. Needless to say the name comes nowhere near close to portraying the beautiful and curvaceous lines it exhibits which is why over the years it’s often been referred to as the ‘Tulip’ or ‘Bird’ Chair. The original production name was the FK 6725 which relates to the chair with the fixed base and seat. Other production variants number from 6725-6729 and also have been produced in a 3 leg (3G), 4 leg (4G) or 5 star (5R) base and with or without castors. The original chair was produced with a fixed seat and base, but later versions had a rotating seat - and later still a 4 star and 5 star base with both a tilting and rotating seat. All production models had circular slides or castors fitted to the base of the feet so if you ever see a listing without one or the other they are missing in action. The FK high back armchair version, as shown here, has a leather pad and a gloss white shell and a 4 star rotating base. This was a special edition, as confirmed by email via Walter Knoll, and was therefore only produced in very limited numbers. The fine lines and contours found on the FK chair are still as compelling today as they were when the chair was first introduced. The sculptured arm rests elegantly curve up and away from the chair base and provide both comfort and support. It’s a stylish, easy going chair that works well both in a domestic environment as a dining, side or desk chair, or in a business environment as a meeting room or conference room chair. All the chairs in this set are in good used condition with just minor signs of wear here and there as expected. There really is nothing much to choose between any of the 10 as there are no major marks or damages. The polished 4 star base on all the chairs are also in good condition with just a few scuff marks and scratches on the tops of the profiles, again just as you would expect. The chairs are matched to a beautifully designed and constructed Matteo Grassi cream leather and glass dining table. This large and impressive table has a steel core base that has been upholstered in cream leather and that features a thick glass, floating table top. Matteo Grassi had a long history of producing high quality and finely crafted saddlery going as far back as 1880, and this shines through in the quality of the construction and stitching on all of their products. Like many of their designs the point of identification is that the metal framework is an analogy for the human skeleton with the leather acting as the ‘skin’ that shrouds the frame. The Matteo Grassi family company first came to the notice of interior designers and retailers when the Korium series of chairs were first introduced in 1978. This was the first design they produced under their own name after they moved into mainstream furniture production. This change was based on their increasing involvement in furniture prototyping in the previous 10 years that saw them create and develop bespoke designs for many leading architects and designers. They have ever since been known for producing quality pieces of furniture including the MG5 cantilever chair. This table is the Gazelle model and was produced from the late 1990s through to around 2010 and features their trademark stitching and thick leather; it really is a rare and beautiful table and one that is almost impossible to find on the resale market. It’s constructed of a heavy metal frame with adjustable pads that support a thick glass, racetrack oval shaped top that simply floats above the frame. Whilst it is a very well made and solid piece, it can still be moved by two strong people. This particular table dates from the late 90s and is in excellent condition with only very light marks to the frame and glass – there are no chips in the glass edge. The table has the Matteo Grassi imprint on leather plaques on the underneath of the main frame. As you can see by reference to the photographs, the table can accommodate 10 chairs, but also works well with 8, or 6 chairs too. On this basis you can adapt the seating to your needs and maybe only have all 10 chairs out for larger gatherings and special occasions. Whilst both the chairs and table were designed for the domestic environment the set would work equally as well in an office setting as a funky meeting room or conference table set...

Category

1990s German Mid-Century Modern Walter Knoll Tables

Materials

Aluminum, Steel

Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant

Beautiful large executive desk from the Art collection series designed and manufactured by Walter Knoll, Germany, 1970. Black stained ash wooden desk, with black leather inlay, 2 cm ...

Category

1970s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Walter Knoll Tables

Materials

Stainless Steel

Walter Knoll Executive Desk, Germany, 1970

H 29.14 in W 78.75 in L 29.14 in

Bellows Green Stool, Occasional Table

By Walter Knoll

Located in New York, NY

Stool and occasional table are surprising to the eye and play with our expectations. The leather is gathered in soft, sturdy folds. And then it stretches. Bellows changes its height....