Joe Columbo “Boby” Cart Work Station
View Similar Items
Joe Columbo “Boby” Cart Work Station
About the Item
- Creator:Joe Colombo (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 16 in (40.64 cm)Depth: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1967
- Condition:Very clean white example! No chips or cracks, minimal yellowing.
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU843013432332
Joe Colombo
He died tragically young, and his career as a designer lasted little more than 10 years. But through the 1960s, Joe Colombo proved himself one of the field’s most provocative and original thinkers, and he produced a remarkably large array of innovative chairs, table lamps and other lighting and furniture as well as product designs. Even today, the creations of Joe Colombo have the power to surprise.
Cesare “Joe” Colombo was born in Milan, the son of an electrical-components manufacturer. He was a creative child — he loved to build huge structures from Meccano pieces — and in college he studied painting and sculpture before switching to architecture.
In the early 1950s, Colombo made and exhibited paintings and sculptures as part of an art movement that responded to the new Nuclear Age, and futuristic thinking would inform his entire career. He took up design not long after his father fell ill in 1958, and he and his brother, Gianni, were called upon to run the family company.
Colombo expanded the business to include the making of plastics — a primary material in almost all his later designs. One of his first, made in collaboration with his brother, was the Acrilica table lamp (1962), composed of a wave-shaped piece of clear acrylic resin that diffused light cast by a bulb concealed in the lamp’s metal base. A year later, Colombo produced his best-known furniture design, the Elda armchair (1963): a modernist wingback chair with a womb-like plastic frame upholstered in thick leather pads.
Portability and adaptability were keynotes of many Colombo designs, made for a more mobile society in which people would take their living environments with them. One of his most striking pieces is the Tube chair (1969). It comprises four foam-padded plastic cylinders that fit inside one another. The components, which are held together by metal clips, can be configured in a variety of seating shapes (his Additional Living System seating is similarly versatile).
Vintage Tube chairs generally sell for about $9,000 in good condition; Elda chairs for about $7,000. A small Colombo design such as the plastic Boby trolley — an office organizer on wheels, designed in 1970 — is priced in the range of $700.
As Colombo intended, his designs are best suited to a modern decor. If your tastes run to sleek, glossy Space Age looks, the work of Joe Colombo offers you a myriad of choices.
Find vintage Joe Colombo lamps, seating and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
- Maison Jansen French Bar Tray TableBy Maison JansenLocated in Philadelphia, PAAttributed to Maison Jansen Brass, Lucite and Glass Serving Table. Top tray lifts off to serve easily. Glass Surface is 29" high. Nice Original Condition. Bought in Paris about 1...Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsBrass
- Joe Ardourel Cottonwoods Litho 248/ 260Located in Philadelphia, PAJoe Ardourel Signed and Numbered Lithograph "Cottonwoods" 248/ 260. Colorado Artist, very nice condition and great subject!Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Leo Russel Gouache, Dated 1956By Leo RussellLocated in Philadelphia, PALeo Russel Gouache 1956. Organic abstract shapes on paper framed in distressed gold leaf and under glass. Image is 8.5 x 11. Frame is 26.5 x 33.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
- Elio Schiavon Italian Wizard FigureBy Elio SchiavonLocated in Philadelphia, PAElio Schiavon wizard figure, dates to the mid-1950s in excellent condition! Born in 1925 in Arzergrande, Padua, Italy. Studied at the Nove School of Ceramic Art. Opened his own Studi...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsCeramic
$2,000 Sale Price20% Off - Benjamin Baldwin for Jack Lenor Larsen Furniture Company Barrel ChairsBy Jack Lenor LarsenLocated in Philadelphia, PABenjamin Baldwin Designed chairs for Jack Lenor Larsen INC. Circa 1975. Great Barrel Chairs on Casters. Hard to find any of his furniture designs! Chairs need to be reupholstered....Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Mid-Century Brown Jordan Kantan Patio RockerBy Brown JordanLocated in Philadelphia, PABrown Jordan High Back Patio Rocker. Comfortable and easy to move around! All original!.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsAluminum
- Joe Colombo Black Boby Trolley CartBy Joe Colombo, BieffeplastLocated in Los Angeles, CATrolley cart by Joe Colombo c.1970s, Italy. This unique plastic cart has three shallow swivel drawers and two shelves. The opposite side of the cart has t...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsPlastic
$950 / item - Yellow Boby Cart by Joe Colombo for Bieffeplast 70sBy Bieffeplast, Joe ColomboLocated in Padova, ITIconic Boby cart in very rare yellow color designed by Joe Colombo and produced by Bieffeplast 1970s . This “Boby” trolley or portable storage system was de...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsPlastic
- Joe Colombo Boby Rolling Utility Trolley Cart for BieffeplastBy Joe Colombo, BieffeplastLocated in Garnerville, NYJoe Colombo Boby rolling utility trolley cart for Bieffeplast, Italy. Colombo was a master of creating useful items out of plastic and created a market for this "new" material in the...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsPlastic
- Joe Columbo Iconic red Trolley 'Boby'Spage age, 1970Located in Oostrum-Venray, NLDiscover Joe Colombo's Iconic Red 'Boby' Trolley This beautiful red 'Boby' trolley, designed by the renowned Joe Colombo, is not only a feast for the eyes, but also an example of fu...Category
Vintage 1970s Space Age Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsPlastic
- Joe Colombo Black Boby Trolley Cart on Wheels for Bieffeplast, 1960sBy Bieffeplast, Joe ColomboLocated in Miami, FLBlack Boby Trolley storage system on four wheels with three swinging drawers designed by Joe Colombo for Bieffeplast, Italy 1960s.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsPlastic
- Mid Century Modern Joe Colombo Iconic Boby Trolley Cart 1970 Bieffeplast ItalyBy Joe Colombo, BieffeplastLocated in BROOKLYN, NYMid Century Iconic Joe Colombo Boby Trolley cart designed by in black color designed by Joe Colombo and produced by Bieffeplast Italy circa 1970. This “Boby” trolley or portable stor...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsPlastic