Karl Springer On Sale
Vintage 1970s Table Lamps
Chrome
Vintage 1980s Hollywood Regency Stools
Bronze
Vintage 1980s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Chrome
Late 20th Century American Desks
Brass, Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1980s German Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Stone, Brass
Vintage 1980s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Leather
Vintage 1980s American Modern Dining Room Tables
Stone
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Goatskin
Vintage 1970s American Modern Console Tables
Goatskin, Wood, Lacquer
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
Brass
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Goatskin
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Parchment Paper
Late 20th Century American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Stainless Steel
Vintage 1970s American Art Deco Table Mirrors
Brass, Steel
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Upholstery
20th Century American Modern Benches
Leather
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Acrylic
20th Century American Pedestals and Columns
Wood, Leather
20th Century American Vanities
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Decorative Boxes
Suede, Animal Skin
Vintage 1970s American Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
Vintage 1970s Philippine Wall Mirrors
Bone, Mirror
Vintage 1970s American Wall Lights and Sconces
Metal
Vintage 1970s American Art Deco Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Wall Mirrors
Chrome
20th Century American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
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21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Travertine
2010s American Modern Night Stands
Maple, Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Jars
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
Metal
2010s American Modern Stools
Walnut
2010s American Modern Stools
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Center Tables
Wood, Birdseye Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Benches
Fabric, Velvet, Lacquer, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Art Deco Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Benches
Velvet, Wood, Ebony
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Night Stands
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1970s German Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Fabric, Foam
Recent Sales
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Lucite
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Vintage 1970s American Modern End Tables
Glass, Grasscloth
Vintage 1980s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Gold
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Lacquer
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Lacquer
Vintage 1980s American Modern Dining Room Tables
Leather
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Desks
Shagreen, Wood, Lacquer
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Game Tables
Wood, Leather, Upholstery
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Chrome, Steel
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Glass, Lucite
Vintage 1980s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Mirrors
Brass, Chrome
20th Century American Benches
Brass
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Candlesticks
Murano Glass
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Goatskin, Lacquer
Vintage 1970s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Nickel
Vintage 1980s American Table Mirrors
Brass, Chrome
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Grasscloth, Wood, Plywood
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror
Vintage 1970s American Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1970s North American Table Lamps
Lacquer
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Mirrors
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Wall Mirrors
Wood, Lacquer, Mirror
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
1990s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass, Chrome
20th Century American Console Tables
20th Century American Post-Modern End Tables
Leather
Vintage 1970s Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Late 20th Century American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Vintage 1970s Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Club Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Stone
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Metal
Late 20th Century American Side Tables
Sandstone, Bronze
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Oak
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
Linen, Resin
Late 20th Century Mexican Desks and Writing Tables
Goatskin
Vintage 1970s American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Fabric, Wood
Vintage 1970s American Floor Lamps
Brass, Nickel
Vintage 1980s American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Sandstone, Bronze
Vintage 1980s American Modern Dining Room Tables
Glass, Lucite
Late 20th Century American Chandeliers and Pendants
Glass
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Console Tables
Wood, Naugahyde
Vintage 1970s American Shelves
Smoked Glass
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Game Tables
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Serving Tables
Shagreen, Wood
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
Vintage 1970s American Swivel Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Vintage 1970s American Art Deco Wall Lights and Sconces
Metal
Karl Springer On Sale For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Karl Springer On Sale?
Karl Springer for sale on 1stDibs
The Berlin-born, New York–based designer Karl Springer brought a chic, high-fashion sensibility to his coffee tables, mirrors, Lucite lamps and other furnishings. During his heyday in the 1970s, Springer’s work was a favorite of the glamour set, who enjoyed the novelty of pieces finished in rich and striking materials that ranged from exotic hides and skins to lacquer and chromed metal.
In a sense, Springer was a pre-postmodernist. Much as the dull, safe, corporate sameness of late 20th-century modernism prompted Ettore Sottsass, Michael Graves and others to explore new and provocative structures and materials in design and architecture, so, too, was Springer driven to enliven his creations with fresh and alluring energy and sleekness.
Springer came to New York in the late 1950s and found work arranging window displays at the department store Lord & Taylor. He had studied bookbinding in Germany, and, using his meticulous skills, he began crafting desk accessories wrapped in leather as a sideline. These pieces were sold in luxury stores like Bergdorf Goodman and drew a sophisticated clientele that included the Duchess of Windsor.
By 1965, Springer had established his own Manhattan atelier. It was Pierre Scapula, decorator to Jackie and Aristotle Onassis, who spotted Springer's disco-era Onassis chairs — which didn't yet have a name — first commissioned for a private residence in Acapulco, on the floor of the designer’s East 61st Street showroom. Jackie ordered barstools for the couple’s yacht, the Christina O, and dining chairs for their house on the Greek mainland.
At the time of his death, Springer had showrooms as far afield as Los Angeles, Tokyo and Munich.
The chairs, tables, credenzas and other furniture forms Springer created are generally simple, but substantial, and often have robust, rounded lines. The appeal of his work lies in Springer's insistence on exacting construction and, above all, his eye for unusual materials and finishes.
Springer employed Lucite, brass, and gunmetal along with chromed and polished steel, and revived exquisite finishes rarely seen since the days of Art Deco masters such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean-Michel Frank: shagreen (a type of sharkskin), python, goatskin, bone, horn, and lacquered parchment, as well as fabrics that include batik prints. Made of such materials, Springer’s work is by its very nature flamboyant and eye-catching: a suite of pieces will astonish, and an artfully placed side table in exotic hide will add a surprising spark.
Find a collection of vintage Karl Springer furniture today on 1stDibs.