Poul Cadovius for CADO Rosewood Wall Unit, Denmark, 1960s
View Similar Items
Poul Cadovius for CADO Rosewood Wall Unit, Denmark, 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:Poul Cadovius (Designer),Cado (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 78.75 in (200 cm)Width: 63 in (160 cm)Depth: 18.51 in (47 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 11
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Amsterdam, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3940321072622
Poul Cadovius
While Poul Cadovius is most famous for his modular floating shelving system, his career in design didn’t actually start with wall units.
Born just outside of Copenhagen in 1911, Cadovius began manufacturing window treatments in the 1940s with his partner, Hother Brønner. He soon turned his focus from Venetian blinds to furniture, finding success designing svelte pieces in teak, a richly colored hardwood favored by the Danish mid-century modernists.
In 1945, Cadovius founded the furniture manufacturer Royal System with his designs, including the 1948 Royal System shelving unit, a space-saving solution that underscored Cadovius’s penchant for problem-solving in a multifunctional way. Rather than balance shelves on wooden or metal legs, it held them to the wall with brackets.
Cadovius followed the Royal System shelving unit with the System Ultra in 1957, the System Cado in 1960 and the System Abstracta, which was installed throughout the exhibition halls of the 1962 Cologne Furniture Fair. All expanded on his idea of wall-mounted shelving that saved space while offering functionality, allowing for limitless combinations of storage, shelves, work surfaces and other units. The Royal System proved to be especially popular and is still produced by Danish furniture brand dk3 today, with early models continuing to be in demand.
Along with the shelving systems, Cadovius designed everything from lounge chairs to mushroom-shaped bus shelters, and he held over 400 patents. In addition to being a designer, he was also an entrepreneur with an eye for opportunity, such as purchasing Danish manufacturer France & Søn in the mid-1960s and folded it into Cado, a company he founded years earlier. He used this as an occasion to experiment with his designs, conceiving such unusual pieces as an aluminum-based dining table topped with rosewood and hand-painted by artist Susan Fjedldoe Mygge.
Cadovius’s innovations in shelving continued throughout his career, with examples like the sculptural Butterfly shelf and vertical pieces mixing shelving and storage. In 2018, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Royal System, dk3 reissued the celebrated shelving system as well as a more compact version reimagined for 21st-century homes.
Find a collection of vintage Poul Cadovius storage cabinets, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Cado
While Danish furniture company Cado is popular among collectors of Scandinavian modern furniture for its well-crafted chairs, sofas, coffee tables and dining tables, the brand is best known for its sculptural wall shelving systems created by renowned Danish designer Poul Cadovius (1911–2011), Cado's founder.
The Copenhagen-born Cadovius initially studied to be an upholsterer and saddler before pursuing furniture design. He began his career in the 1940s making Venetian blinds and other window treatments before shifting his focus toward designing versatile furnishings that could be adapted to all sorts of interior spaces.
In 1945, Cadovius founded the furniture manufacturer Royal System intending to produce his designs for postwar homeowners. His visionary works included the 1948 Royal System shelving unit, a space-saving solution that underscored Cadovius’s penchant for problem-solving in a multifunctional way. Rather than balance shelves on wooden or metal legs, it held them to the wall with brackets. The wall unit was practical and functional, but it was also decorative, made of rich and exotic woods like walnut, rosewood and teak, a favorite wood of Cadovius’s and a highly sought-after material among mid-century modern designers.
Cadovius established Cado in the late 1950s. The manufacturer followed the Royal System shelving unit with several other modular storage designs including the System Ultra in 1957, System Cado in 1960 and System Abstracta in 1962. Two years later, with more than 400 patents to his name, Cadovius purchased premier Danish furniture manufacturer France & Søn and incorporated it into Cado.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Cado collaborated with influential Danish and European designers of the era such as Steen Østergaard, best known for his stackable Cado 290, a Space Age fiberglass-and-polyamide nylon lounge chair; Finn Juhl, a stylistic maverick who embraced expressive, free-flowing shapes in chair and sofa designs much earlier than his colleagues; and Ole Wanscher, who drew on Shaker furniture and Chippendale forms and created the widely loved Colonial chair and coffee table for P. Jeppesens Møbelfabrik.
Cadovius’s designs — as well as the other works manufactured by Cado — are widely coveted by vintage furniture enthusiasts all over the world. In 2018, the Danish brand dk3 reissued the Royal System as well as a more compact version.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Cado case pieces and storage cabinets, seating and tables.
- Poul Cadovius for Royal System Wall System Book Shelves in Teak, Denmark, 1950sBy Royal System, Poul CadoviusLocated in Amsterdam, NLLarge freestanding wall unit by Poul Cadovius for Royal system. With 4 black metal risers and teak veneer cabinets and shelves. 1x cabinet with sliding doors 42.5 x 37,5 x 160 cm ...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Bookcases
MaterialsMetal
- Wall Unit in Elmwood by Poul Cadovius for Royal System, Denmark, 1950sBy Royal System, Poul CadoviusLocated in Amsterdam, NLBlack wooden risers and elmwood veneer book shelves and cabinet with black metal hooks. This wall unit consist of: 2 x shelf 80 x 20 cm 1 x shelf 80 ...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsMetal
- Vintage Nisse Strinning for String Pinewood Shelving System, Sweden, 1960sBy String Design AB, Poul Cadovius, Nils Nisse StrinningLocated in Amsterdam, NLVintage Nisse Strinning for string pinewood shelving system, Sweden, 1960s This shelving system with its minimalistic looks, was designed by Swedish a...Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Shelves
MaterialsMetal
$835 Sale Price20% Off - Rosewood Wall Unit by Kai Kristiansen for Feldballes Mobelfabrik, Denmark 1950'sBy Kai Kristiansen, Feldballes MøbelfabrikLocated in Amsterdam, NLLarge rosewood wall unit with rosewood back plates. The cabinet has some traces of use like stains, but no veneer damage. There are 2 holes in the back plates, one for the lamp and...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
MaterialsRosewood
- Gerrit Rietveld inspired Room Divider or Bookcase by Wim Rietveld, Dutch, 1960sBy Wim Rietveld, Friso Kramer, Gerrit RietveldLocated in Amsterdam, NLDutch minimalistic metal room divider or bookcase by Wim Rietveld, the son of Gerrtit Rietveld. It was designed for “De Bijenkorf” the Netherlands in the 1960s and was inspired by a ...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsMetal
- William Watting for Fristho Wall Unit, the Netherlands 1950'sBy William Watting, FristhoLocated in Amsterdam, NLHigh quality wooden wall unit with brass hooks. Three cabinets and seven shelves. 7 x shelves: x cm 1x cabinet glass doors: cm (LxDxH) 1 x des...Category
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsBrass
- Danish Modern Modular Teak Wall Unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado, 1960sBy Cado, Poul CadoviusLocated in Asaa, DKVintage Danish teak wall unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado, 1960s. Mid-Century Modern 4 bay shelving system model Royal. This is a original vintage floating bookcase designed in 1948...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsTeak
- Danish Modern Modular Teak Wall Unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado 1950sBy Cado, Poul CadoviusLocated in Asaa, DKVintage Danish teak wall unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado, 1950s. Mid-Century Modern 2 bay shelving system model Royal. This is a original vintage floating bookcase designed in 1948 by Danish architect Poul Cadovius. Cadovius had the revolutionary idea to design a floating, modular shelving system that would maximize floor space and signify the end of conformity in shelving. The Royal System shelving unit...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsTeak
- Vintage Danish Rosewood Modular Wall Unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado 1960sBy Cado, Poul CadoviusLocated in Asaa, DKVintage Danish rosewood modular wall unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado 1960s Mid-Century Modern 3 bay shelving system model Cado. This is a original vintage floating bookcase designed ...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Bookcases
MaterialsRosewood
- Vintage Danish rosewood modular wall unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado 1960sBy Cado, Poul CadoviusLocated in Asaa, DKVintage Danish rosewood modular wall unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado 1960s Mid-Century Modern 4 bay shelving system model Cado. This is a original vintage floating bookcase designed ...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Bookcases
MaterialsRosewood
- Vintage Danish 2-Bay Rosewood Modular Wall Unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado 1960s.By Cado, Poul CadoviusLocated in Asaa, DKVintage Danish 2-Bay Rosewood Modular Wall Unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado 1960s. Mid-Century Modern 2 bay shelving system model Cado with back panels. This is a original vintage flo...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Bookcases
MaterialsRosewood
- Vintage Wenge & White Wall Unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado, 1960s.By Cado, Poul CadoviusLocated in Eindhoven, Noord BrabantModular Royal System wall unit in wenge and white. Designed by Poul Cadovius in the Sixties. Manufactured by CADO in Denmark. The individual elements of the wall system are made of ...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Shelves
MaterialsIron