Probber Architectural Series
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Leather, Oak
People Also Browsed
2010s Dutch Lounge Chairs
Textile
2010s German Modern Benches
Wood, Oak
2010s Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
Nickel
2010s Italian Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
2010s Danish More Carpets
Polyester
2010s Austrian Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
2010s European Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Walnut, Oak, Wood, Upholstery, Silk, Wool, Textile, Fabric
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Benches
Chrome
2010s European Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome, Metal
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Mahogany
Recent Sales
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1960s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Steel
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Leather, Oak
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
Harvey Probber for sale on 1stDibs
A popular designer who had his heyday from the late 1940s into the 1970s, Harvey Probber is one of the post-war American creative spirits whose work has been recently rediscovered by collectors. His designs are by-and-large simple and elegant, but his signal achievement was to pioneer one of the key innovations of mid-20th century furniture: sectional, or modular, seating.
Even as a teenager, the Brooklyn-born Probber was making sketches of furniture designs — and selling them to Manhattan furniture companies. He began working as a designer for an upholsterer once he finished high school and, apart from a few evening classes he took as an adult at Pratt Institute, he was self-taught about design and furniture making.
After wartime service — and a stint as a lounge singer — Probber founded his own company in the late 1940s. A lifelong familiarity with the needs of New York–apartment dwellers doubtless sparked his most noteworthy creation: a line of seating pieces in basic geometric shapes — wedges, squares, half-circles — that could be arranged and combined as needed. Modular furniture remained the core idea of Probber’s business throughout his career.
As a self-trained designer, Probber was never wed to any particular aesthetic. He preferred the simple lines now associated with mid-century modernism for their inherent practicality, but often used hardware to enliven the look of his pieces, or added elements — such as a ceramic insert in the center of a round dining table — that was visually interesting and could serve as a trivet. He gravitated toward bright fabrics with attractive, touchable textures that might be satin-like or nubbly. Above all, Probber insisted that the sofas, case goods and other products that came out of his Fall River, Massachusetts, factory be built to last.
“The quality of aging gracefully,” Probber once told an interviewer, is “design's fourth dimension.” This quality he realized: Probber furniture is just as useful and alluring now as it was when made — and maybe even more stylish.
Find a collection of vintage Harvey Probber side tables, sectional sofas, chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.