Skip to main content
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 15

Early Ralph Rapson Rocker with Leather Webbing

About the Item

This is a rare first year production from HG Knoll Associates of a stunning rocking chair designed by Ralph Rapson. It boasts a solid birch frame with original woven leather webbing showing great patina. This particular chair comes from an architecturally significant house designed by Hugh Stubbins in Ingersoll Village, Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was found along with other pieces of Knoll furniture and had remained in the house from the time it was built in 1945 until it was sold by the family of the original owner in 2019. This Ralph Rapson rocking chair is sturdy and usable. The original leather webbing is in surprisingly great vintage condition has been retightened so that it sits very nicely and offers a comfortable seat. There is one old repair on the chair's left arm where the joint was replaced with a pinned tenon. All in all, this is a collector's item for those interested in the earliest iterations of Mid-Century Modern design.
  • Creator:
    Ralph Rapson (Designer),Knoll (Maker)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 28 in (71.12 cm)Depth: 32 in (81.28 cm)
  • Style:
    Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1940s
  • Condition:
    Replacements made: A joint was replaced with a pinned tendon in the chair's left arm. Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Kalamazoo, MI
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU5573230028092
More From This SellerView All
  • Eames Zenith RAR Rocking Chair with Rope Edge
    By Charles Eames, Zenith
    Located in Kalamazoo, MI
    This is a highly collectible early edition rocking armchair on rod base (RAR) designed by Ray and Charles Eames and made by Zenith Plastics. The fiber-rich lemon yellow fiberglass sh...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

    Materials

    Metal

  • Angel Pazmino Small Sling Rocking Chair
    By Muebles De Estilo, Angel Pazmino
    Located in Kalamazoo, MI
    Unique organic modern form rocking chair designed by Angel Pazmino and made by Muebles de Estilo in Quito, Ecuador, in the 1960s. Interlocking frames of solid Laurelwood held togethe...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Ecuadorean Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

    Materials

    Leather, Wood

  • Jens Risom Armchair for Knoll Associates
    By Knoll, Jens Risom
    Located in Kalamazoo, MI
    This is a beautiful upholstered armchair designed by Jens Risom for HG Knoll & Associates in the 1940s. It is one of the early, iconic chairs that ushered in a period of incredible mid-century modern design. The solid Birch frame cradles a foam cushioned seat that was recently reupholstered in Knoll Maharam fabrics. The fabric is timeless and high-quality, and it suits the lighter birch wood color perfectly. This is more than just a collectible MCM chair...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs

    Materials

    Birch

  • Hans Wegner JH-507 Armchair in Teak and Leather
    By Johannes Hansen
    Located in Kalamazoo, MI
    This is a very rare teak armchair designed by Hans Wegner and produced by Johannes Hansen in 1950. The JH-507 in teak and leather was only produced in limited quantities and is a hard piece to find. The chair boasts the original leather on its seat back, and it appears that the upholstery on the seat itself has been recovered in the last few decades. Some age-related wear is visible in the seat back upholstery (see photos for details) while the seat cushion leather is in wonderful condition. In addition to being a collectible item designed by an iconic name in mid-century modern furniture, this Hans Wegner JH...
    Category

    Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs

    Materials

    Leather, Teak

  • Michael van Beuren 'Edimburgo' Armchair
    By Michael van Beuren
    Located in Kalamazoo, MI
    Superb and rare armchair by Michael Van Beuren for his company, made in Mexico in the 1960s. The beautiful chair boasts a nice combination of woods with a stunning teak backrest -- this is not a chair you should keep up against the wall! The original leather seat is in good vintage condition with some signs of wear (photos show examples of this). Frame shows signs of use but is good overall and ready for immediate use. The Van Beuren label is affixed underneath the chair and is great shape, with all text clearly visible -- a rare find for one of these 1960s Mexican modern chairs.
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Armchairs

    Materials

    Leather, Teak

  • Danish Modern BO 360 Suede Sling Chair by Erik Ole Jorgensen
    By Erik Ole Jørgensen, Bovirke
    Located in Kalamazoo, MI
    Early 1960s metal and suede hoop sling chair by designer Erik Ole Jorgensen made by Bovirke in Denmark. Deceptively comfortable, this sling lounge chair conforms to your body providi...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs

    Materials

    Metal

You May Also Like
  • Early Ralph Rapson Rocker for Knoll
    By Ralph Rapson
    Located in New York, NY
    Rocker designed by Minneapolis-based architect Ralph Rapson. Part of a line of chairs designed for Knoll and produced for a short time just after WWII. Rapson was a student at Cranbr...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

    Materials

    Cotton, Birch

  • Ralph Rapson High Back Lounge Chair
    By Ralph Rapson, Knoll
    Located in Philadelphia, PA
    Ralph Rapson Early High Back Lounge Chair for Knoll Rapson designed an entire series of furniture that went into production in the late 40's The High Back Lounge Chair is one from th...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs

    Materials

    Leather, Upholstery, Birch

  • Lena Larsson, Made by Nesto, a Mid Century Ebonised Rocker with Sculptural Arms
    By Lena Larsson, Nesto
    Located in London, GB
    Lena Larsson, manufactured by Nesto. A Mid Century Modern Swedish Grandessa rocking armchair with fine ebonized turnings to the back and below the ebonized sculpted arms with a show...
    Category

    Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs

    Materials

    Beech

  • Ralph Rapson, Rare Lounge Chairs, Maple, Cotton, Brass, USA, 1945
    By Ralph Rapson, Knoll
    Located in High Point, NC
    A pair of rare maple, light orange cotton webbing and brass "Greenbelt" lounge designed by Ralph Rapson and produced by H.G. Knoll Associates, USA, 1940s
    Category

    Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs

    Materials

    Brass

  • Antique Old Hickory Furniture Rocking Arm Chair No. 21 Rocker Adirondack Lodge
    By Old Hickory Furniture Company
    Located in Dayton, OH
    "Antique circa 1930s #21 rocking chair by Old Hickory Furniture Company of Martinsville, Indiana. Features a primitive Adirondack style with flar...
    Category

    Vintage 1930s Adirondack Rocking Chairs

    Materials

    Rattan, Hardwood

  • Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin Prisma Armchair Rocker Lounge 1984, Memphis era
    By Thayer Coggin, Milo Baughman
    Located in Brooklyn, NY
    Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin 1984 Prisma collection armchair rocker lounge. This item is on Clearance. Clearance listings are priced for quick an...
    Category

    Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Rocking Chairs

    Materials

    Steel

Recently Viewed

View All