Half Round Leather Lounge Sofa by Walter Knoll, 1960s
View Similar Items
Half Round Leather Lounge Sofa by Walter Knoll, 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:Walter Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 70 in (177.8 cm)Width: 310 in (787.4 cm)Depth: 190 in (482.6 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Unrestored very good condition.
- Seller Location:Telgte, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3045310296623
Walter Knoll
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.
- Box and Wall Unit String Shelf Rack System by Nisse Strinning, 1960sBy String Design AB, Nils Nisse StrinningLocated in Telgte, DEBox and wall unit string shelf rack system by Nisse Strinning, 1960s Original and rare String System. One box (78 cm W x 30 cm D x 42 cm H), 3 shelves (7...Category
Vintage 1940s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsMetal
- Glass Chrome Coffee Side Cocktail Couch Table, 1960sLocated in Telgte, DEGlass chrome coffee side cocktail couch table, 1960s Elegant French Space Age glass table.Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Eero Aarnio for Asko Arm Chair Red Fiberglass Pastil "Pastille", Finland, 1960sBy Asko, Eero AarnioLocated in Telgte, DEEero Aarnio for Asko chair red fiberglass Pastil "Pastille", Finland, 1960s A red high gloss fiberglass 'Pastille' ('pastil' or 'Gyro') chair designed by Finish designer Eero Aarnio...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Maison Charles Brass Coffee Table with Four Nesting Tables, 1960sBy Charles MaisonLocated in Telgte, DEMaison Charles brass coffee table with four nesting tables, 1960s Rare and elegant chrome/ glass coffee table with four nesting tables in brass and chrome, made by Maison Charles. T...Category
Vintage 1960s French Hollywood Regency Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass, Chrome
- Set of Two Lounge Chairs GN2 by Peter Ghyczy for Reuter´s Form + Life CollectionBy Peter Ghyczy, Form + Life CollectionLocated in Telgte, DESet of two lounge chairs GN2 by Peter Ghyczy for Reuter´s Form + Life Collection, 1970s The chairs are made of one piece and consist of moulded fiberglass. The chairs are suitable fo...Category
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Set of Four Velvet Armchairs by Miller Borgsen Röder & SöhneBy Röder & SöhneLocated in Telgte, DESet of four velvet armchairs by Miller Borgsen Röder & Söhne Very good original condition. Cover in dark blue velvet. The armchairs are very comfortable! Design Miller Borgsen for Rö...Category
Vintage 1970s German Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsVelvet
- Federico Munari Velvet Rounded Meridienne Sofa, 1960sBy Federico MunariLocated in Paris, IDFThe rounded, sloped back gives this piece a jolt of Italian midcentury glamour. Designed by Federico Munari in Italy in the 1960s, the sofa seems t...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsVelvet
- Walter Knoll for Sirino Brayton Leather SofaBy Brayton International, Walter KnollLocated in Ferndale, MIBeautifully stitched sand tone leather couch. Leather and cushions are in fine condition. Designed by Walter Knoll for Brayton international. Brayton was absorbed by steel case in th...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Upholstery
$2,400 Sale Price31% Off - Sleeping Sofa by Martin Visser for ‘t Spectrum, 1960sBy Martin Visser, 't Spectrum BergeijkLocated in Hilversum, NLSleeping sofa, designed by the famous Martin Visser in the 60’s. Fabricated by ‘t Spectrum, The Netherlands. Simple high quality metal structure with maximum comfort. The sofa can be...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel
- Walter Knoll by Bernd Münzebrock Brown Leather DaybedBy Walter Knoll, Bernd MünzebrockLocated in London, GBOriginally designed by Bernd Münzebrock in 1973 and manufactured by Walter Knoll, this daybed is reminiscent of the iconic Bauhaus designs from the 1930s. Constructed from a chrome ...Category
Vintage 1970s German Daybeds
MaterialsLeather
$2,911 Sale Price20% Off - Mid-Century Modern Sofa Daybed by Miroslav Navratil, Czechoslovakia, 1960sBy Miroslav NavratilLocated in Lucenec, SKThis sofa was designed by Miroslav Navratil in the 1960s for Interier Praha Czechoslovakia. It features a beech frame with the original green fabric. It is easily folded out into a 9...Category
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Beech
- Midcentury Sofa Designed by Miroslav Navrátil, Czech Republic, 1960sBy Miroslav NavratilLocated in Praha, CZMidcentury sofabed designed by Miroslav Navrátil, Czech Republic, 1960s, clothing upholstery, wooden frame. Dimensions folded sofa is 189 cm x 82 cm.Category
Vintage 1960s Czech Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery