American Primitive Post Office Cubby
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage American post office cubby. Fantastic distressed character. Structurally stable. Ships from Philadelphia.
Pine
Antique Brass Cashier Bank Teller or Post Office Cage Window
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1920. We offer this beautiful antique cashier bank teller or post office cage window. Made in solid brass with fantastic patina. Great vintage conditions.
Brass
French Post Office Filing Shelf A useful rustic piece in pine
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
French Post Office Filing Shelf A useful rustic piece in pine, a sectioned shelf with pigeon holes, tall ones wide ones and 2 drawer at the bottom The shelf is 26”high, 32” wide an...
Pine
Antique / Industrial 36 cubby hole post office sorting desk / bathroom / kitchen
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique / Industrial 36 cubby hole post office sorting desk...Great size,, Amazing patina,, retains original wire mesh back,,perfect piece for bathroom or kitchen, Hand delivery avai...
Metal
$2,624 / item
Past Medium Office Desk by Pastform
Located in Geneve, CH
Past Medium Office Desk by Pastform Dimensions: D 70 x W 130 x H 76 cm. Materials: Stained and varnished wood. Available in different wood color finishes: Whiskey, Rum, BPA, Nobel, ...
Wood
Santos Rosewood Wishbone Executive Office Desk by A. Jacob Marks
Located in Geneve, CH
Santos Rosewood Wishbone Executive Office Desk by A. Jacob Marks Dimensions: W 234 x D 234 x H 75 cm. Materials: Santos Rosewood. W30 Also available in different materials. Skram’...
Rosewood
Vintage Post Modern Chrome & Glass Etagere Bookshelf
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Condition: Original Vintage Condition Materials: Polished Chrome, Original Glass Shelves This striking Post-Modern étagère features a clean architectural chrome frame paired with i...
Chrome
Vintage Post Modern Aluminum & Glass Bookcase Shelf Unit
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Condition: Original Vintage Condition Materials: Aluminum, Glass, Has Key This vintage Post Modern aluminum and glass bookcase shelf unit, c.1980’s, offers a sleek and functional de...
Aluminum
Vintage Aldo Tura Post-Modern Lacquered Parchment Desk, Italy
By Aldo Tura
Located in Miami, FL
Vintage Aldo Tura Post-Modern Lacquered Parchment Desk, Italy Offered for sale is a rare Italian Aldo Tura post-modern gloss-lacquered parchment goatskin desk with four pedestal key...
Goatskin, Wood, Lacquer
Post-Modern Wall Unit in Glass and Travertine
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Wall unit, travertine, glass, Europe, 1970s Elegant and architectural wall unit crafted during the 1970s, composed of travertine supports and glass shelves. The design is defined by...
Travertine
$3,323Sale Price|30% Off
Post modern industrial freestanding shelving unit, Italy 1970s
By Tomado, Coen de Vries, Pilastro
Located in ECHT, NL
Modular metal shelving unit. Made in Italy in the 1970s. Is has three sections. Made in the style of Pilastro, Artimeta and Tomado. The shelves can be placed on different heights. By...
Metal
Rhomboid Post-Modern Marcello Morandini "Corner" Shelves, Rosenthal, Pair
By Marcello Morandini, Rosenthal
Located in Miami, FL
Rhomboid Post-Modern Marcello Morandini "Corner" Shelves, Pair Offered for sale is a tall companion pair of vintage 1980s Post-modern "Corner" shelves designed by Marcello Morandini...
Ash, Lacquer
1980s German Post-Modern Interlübke DUO Writing Desk by Peter Maly
By Interlübke, Peter Maly
Located in St. Louis, MO
A rare find in the states, 1980s Post-Modern Silver Gray & Black DUO Desk by German designer / architect Peter Maly for Interlübke. Asymmetrical heavy wood grain top with storage col...
Metal
Post modern minimalist wall shelves , 1980s
Located in Delft, NL
Minimalst cabinet in good condition.
Metal
A RADICAL POST-MODERN MEMPHIS SHELVING SYSTEM, France, 1980
Located in PARIS, FR
A radical shelving system or bookcase, Post-Modern, Constructivist, Memphis, Bauhaus, geometric asymmetric structure in steel lacquered in anthracite, with 5 shelves in glass suspend...
Brass, Bronze, Steel
Calacatta Meet Bookcase by Andrea Giomi, Marble, Post-Modern Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Calacatta Meet bookcase by Andrea Giomi Dimensions: D 45 x W 90 x H 200 cm Materials: Calacatta marble. Also available in Carrara marble. Andrea Giomi, was born in Castelfiorentino ...
Marble
$5,178Sale Price|20% Off
Post-Modern Metal Shelving Unit by Orezero, Italian Design, 1980s
By Bieffeplast
Located in Antwerp, BE
Memphis, industrial, post-modern shelving unit, by Orezero, Italy, 1980s Orezero is a palindrome.
Metal
Post Modern Italian Brass & Glass Hairpin Etagere
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Sleek and sculptural, this postmodern Italian étagère makes a striking statement with its elegant hairpin-style brass frame and airy glass shelving. The minimalist silhouette highlig...
Brass
Italian post modern modular curved edges black and white wooden bookcase, 1980s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian post modern modular curved edges black and white wooden bookcase, 1980s Modular bookcase in black and white lacquered wood with a matte finish. The modules, which make up bot...
Wood
Italian Post Modern Travertine, Wood and Polished Stainless Steel Bookcase
Located in Weesp, NL
Postmodern Italian Masterpiece: A Fusion of Art and Functionality Elevate your interior with this stunning postmodern Italian bookcase, a true statement piece that blends timeless d...
Travertine, Stainless Steel
Post Modern Memphis Salvatore Campos Art Brute Red Cat Metal Letter Desk Holder
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
Post Modern Memphis Salvatore Campos Art Brute Red Cat Metal Letter Desk Holder Wonderful, whimsical, bright Red Cat desk file by Brutalist American artist Salvatore Campos. The c...
Sheet Metal
1980s Stone International Post-Modern Black Marble Glass Shelving Unit Italian
By Stone International
Located in London, GB
An impressive and monumental shelving unit in black carrara marble with asymmetrical raw edges and clear tempered glass. This piece has been made in late 1980s early 1990s by Stone I...
Marble
$7,638 / item
Ivory Simbiose Glass Cabinet by Andreas Anwander
Located in Geneve, CH
Ivory Simbiose Glass Cabinet by Andreas Anwander Dimensions: W 110 x D 49 x H 180 cm Materials: Solid Wood, Glass, Brass. Weight: 85 kg. A shelf which design is inspired by the sym...
Brass
Post-Modern Ring Shelf by Panorammma in Marble and Aluminum, Mexico
By Panorammma
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
Ring Shelf is a free-standing, asymmetric, stone ring that touches on the of modernist sculptor Isamu Noguchi’s incorporation of varicolored stone segments to form larger structures....
Marble, Aluminum
6x Bonaldo Cabinet de Curiosité Regal Bücherregal Fabrice Berrux
By Fabrice Berrux, Bonaldo
Located in Berlin, DE
Wir bieten eins von insgesamt elf Bonaldo "Cabinet de Curiosité" Bücherregale aus dem Jahr 2023 zum Verkauf an. Die Regale wurden von Fabrice Berrux entworfen und verfügen über unter...
Wood
Post Modern Black Wood Modular Shelving Storage Unit
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
A large black shelving unit. This versatile shelving unit is a great addition to any room. Its very dark black coloring makes it usable in a great variety of spaces and styles. It co...
Wood
Post-Modern Italian Executive Desk Piano Black Burl by G&C Italia Art Deco Style
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Made in the 1980s in Italy, this desk features a sleek, post-modern, and angular design. Finished in a gloss piano black complemented by burl drawer-fronts, the large work surface ha...
Burl, Lacquer
2x Bonaldo Cabinet de Curiosité Regal Bücherregal Fabrice Berrux2
By Fabrice Berrux, Bonaldo
Located in Berlin, DE
Wir bieten eins von insgesamt elf Bonaldo "Cabinet de Curiosité" Bücherregale aus dem Jahr 2023 zum Verkauf an. Die Regale wurden von Fabrice Berrux entworfen und verfügen über unter...
Wood
1x Bonaldo Cabinet de Curiosité Regal Bücherregal Fabrice Berrux
By Bonaldo, Fabrice Berrux
Located in Berlin, DE
Wir bieten eins von insgesamt elf Bonaldo "Cabinet de Curiosité" Bücherregale aus dem Jahr 2023 zum Verkauf an. Die Regale wurden von Fabrice Berrux entworfen und verfügen über unter...
Wood
2x Bonaldo Cabinet de Curiosité Regal Bücherregal Fabrice Berrux
By Fabrice Berrux, Bonaldo
Located in Berlin, DE
Wir bieten eins von insgesamt elf Bonaldo "Cabinet de Curiosité" Bücherregale aus dem Jahr 2023 zum Verkauf an. Die Regale wurden von Fabrice Berrux entworfen und verfügen über unter...
Wood
Oren Zoldan "Monolith" Multifunctional Display and Storage Cabinet Prototype
Located in Chicago, IL
Oren Zoldan "Monolith" Multifunctional Display and Storage Cabinet Prototype This striking cabinet features seven graduated drawers and open display shelves, all mounted on wheels fo...
Wood
American Post-War White Wooden Table Desk with Chrome Base
Located in Queens, NY
American Post-War Design white painted wood table desk with drawers and supported on 2 chrome "X" form bases. (Desk in need of full restoration) Metal frame has very light scratchin...
Wood
Post-Modern Ceramic Shelf in the shape of a half Greek Ionic capital, Italy 70s
Located in Roma, IT
We offer for sale a shelf capable of recalling the ancient glories of Greek art in an informal dimension such as that of your apartment. The "studio 65" among the major exponents of ...
Ceramic
Ettore Sottsass Tempus Wall Cabinet in Wood by Poltronova 1960s
By Ettore Sottsass, Poltronova
Located in Cascina, Pisa
An elegant wall-mounted cabinet in veneered walnut with a white lacquered front and an inset round mirror. Above the mirror there is a barometer, while below it there is a drawer wit...
Metal
English 1870s Mahogany Three-Tiered Trolley with Turned Side Posts and Casters
Located in Atlanta, GA
An English mahogany three-tiered trolley from the late 19th century, with turned side posts and finials. Created in England during the third quarter of the 19th century, this mahogan...
Mahogany
English 1850s Rosewood Three-Tiered Trolley with Carved Side Posts and Casters
Located in Atlanta, GA
This English rosewood tiered trolley from the mid-19th century features three rectangular shelves with carved edges on four sides secured within four elegant side posts. The posts ar...
Brass
Post Modern Space Age Plastic Shelves by Olaf Von Bohr for Kartell c. 1970's
By Kartell, Olaf von Bohr
Located in New York, NY
Space Age, Postmodern plastic shelf unit, designed by Olaf Von Bohr for Kartell, made in Italy circa 1970's. This example is in very good, original, clean and ready to use condition,...
Plastic
“Zink” Magazine Stand, Källemo, Sweden
By Jonas Bohlin
Located in Brussels, BE
Jonas Bohlin — “Zink” Magazine Stand, Källemo, Sweden, Post-1984 Designer: Jonas Bohlin (b. 1953) Manufacturer: Källemo, Värnamo, Sweden Design Year: 1984 A bold expression of Swedi...
Concrete, Metal
U.S. Post Office Postal Window with Teller's Window, Early 1900s USA
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Brass plate reads 'US POST OFFICE CORBIN CABINET LOCK CO. NEW BRITAIN CONN.
Metal, Brass
Large Italian Postmodern Wall Unit in Walnut and Brass
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Wall unit, storgae unit, brass, walnut, Italy, 1970s A striking example of 1970s Italian postmodern design, this monumental wall unit combines architectural presence with refined cr...
Brass
$15,689 / item
Ebonized White Ash Wishbone Container by A. Jacob Marks
Located in Geneve, CH
Ebonized White Ash Wishbone Container by A. Jacob Marks Dimensions: W 213 x D 51 x H 91 cm. Materials: white ash, ebonized. W49 Also available in different materials. The wishbone...
Ash
Pyramid Shelving Unit, Stained Birch Wood by Mun Hau Production
Located in Geneve, CH
Perfume Cabinet, Stained Birch Wood by Mun Hau Production Dimensions: W 24 x D 24 x H 55 cm. Materials: Stained Birch Wood. About Mun Hau Production is a Hong Kong woodworking bran...
Wood
Santos Rosewood Wishbone Slab Top Desk by A. Jacob Marks
Located in Geneve, CH
Santos Rosewood Wishbone Slab Top Desk by A. Jacob Marks Dimensions: W 152 x D 76 x H 75 cm. Materials: Santos Rosewood, matte opaque black. W21 Also available in different material...
Rosewood
Ebonized White Ash Wishbone Slab Top Desk by A. Jacob Marks
Located in Geneve, CH
Ebonized White Ash Wishbone Drawer Desk by A. Jacob Marks Dimensions: W 152 x D 76 x H 75 cm. Materials: white ash, ebonized, matte opaque black. W21 Also available in different mat...
Ash
$19,679 / item
Ebonized White Ash Drawer Desk by A. Jacob Marks
Located in Geneve, CH
Ebonized White Ash Drawer Desk by A. Jacob Marks Dimensions: W 152 x D 76 x H 75 cm. Materials: white ash, ebonized, rubbed bronze, natural. W26 Also available in different material...
Ash
Bücherregal Søborg Møbelfabrik Børge Mogensen Palisander
By Søborg Møbelfabrik, Børge Mogensen
Located in Berlin, DE
Wir bieten ein wunderschönes Bücherregal vom dänischen Qualitätshersteller Soborg Mobelfabrik aus den 1960er Jahren zum Verkauf an. Der Entwurf stammt von Borge Mogensen, einem der b...
Rosewood
Adjustable Desk in Beech Produced by Seltz, France 1980s
By Ebenisterie Seltz et Fils 1
Located in Hellouw, NL
Crafted in solid beech, this sculptural desk by Seltz from the 1980s combines functional ingenuity with expressive form, echoing the design principles associated with Pierre Chapo. ...
Beech
Mac Gee Library, Philippe Starck, Baleri, 1980
By Philippe Starck, Baleri Italia
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Mac Gee bookcase, design by Philippe Starck for Baleri, Italy, 1980. An icon of postmodern design, the Mac Gee bookcase is made entirely of bent metal, with a lightweight but solid s...
Aluminum
$6,803 / item
Venice Sestiere Desk by Morici
Located in Geneve, CH
Venice Sestiere Desk by Morici Dimensions: W 113 x D 65 x H 77 cm, Drawers : 42×43 H6 covered in Alcantara. Materials: Wood, black Alcantara, inlay veneer. Finish : Gloss brushed pol...
Wood
$6,803 / item
Venice Cannaregio Desk by Morici
Located in Geneve, CH
Venice Cannaregio Desk by Morici Dimensions: W 113 x D 65 x H 77 cm, Drawers : 42×43 H6 covered in Alcantara. Materials: Wood, black Alcantara, inlay veneer. Finish : Gloss brushed p...
Wood
$6,803 / item
Venice Laguna Desk by Morici
Located in Geneve, CH
Venice Laguna Desk by Morici Dimensions: W 113 x D 65 x H 77 cm, Drawers : 42×43 H6 covered in Alcantara. Materials: Wood, black Alcantara, inlay veneer. Finish : Gloss brushed polye...
Wood
$6,803 / item
Venice Mestre Desk by Morici
Located in Geneve, CH
Venice Mestre Desk by Morici Dimensions: W 113 x D 65 x H 77 cm, Drawers : 42×43 H6 covered in Alcantara. Materials: Wood, black Alcantara, inlay veneer. Finish : Gloss brushed polye...
Wood
$6,803 / item
Venice Rialto Desk by Morici
Located in Geneve, CH
Venice Rialto Desk by Morici Dimensions: W 113 x D 65 x H 77 cm, Drawers : 42×43 H6 covered in Alcantara. Materials: Wood, black Alcantara, inlay veneer. Finish : Gloss brushed polye...
Wood
Slim Steel Shelving, Lattice, Stained Birch Wood by Mun Hau Production
Located in Geneve, CH
Slim Steel Shelving, Lattice, Stained Birch Wood by Mun Hau Production Dimensions: W 40 x D 20 x H 240 cm. Materials: Stained Birch Wood, Stainless Steel. About Mun Hau Production ...
Wood
Flyer iron bookcase designed and produced by Dario Nasuti
Located in Parma, IT
The Flyer bookshelf, designed by Dario Nasuti, is a visionary tribute to the dawn of aviation. Inspired by the internal structures and fuselages of early aircraft, Flyer brings the '...
Iron
Set Of 2 Icarus Legs Shelf Brackets in Aluminum by Panorammma
Located in Geneve, CH
Set Of 2 Icarus Legs Shelf Brackets in Aluminum by Panorammma Dimensions: D 7,5 x W 34,5 x H 24 cm. Materials: Aluminum. The inspiration for these pieces was taken from a historical...
Aluminum
Postmodern Manhattan 5th Avenue CD Rack Tower from Koziol, Germany, 1990s
By Koziol
Located in Hamburg, DE
Postmodern Manhattan Series 5th Avenue CD Rack Tower from Koziol, Germany, 1990s
Plastic
Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
Of all the vintage storage cabinets and antique case pieces that have become popular in modern interiors over the years, dressers, credenzas and cabinets have long been home staples, perfect for routine storage or protection of personal items.
In the mid-19th century, cabinetmakers would mimic styles originating in the Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI eras for their dressers, bookshelves and other structures, and, later, simpler, streamlined wood designs allowed these “case pieces” or “case goods” — any furnishing that is unupholstered and has some semblance of a storage component — to blend into the background of any interior.
Mid-century modern furniture enthusiasts will cite the tall modular wall units crafted in teak and other sought-after woods of the era by the likes of George Nelson, Poul Cadovius and Finn Juhl. For these highly customizable furnishings, designers of the day delivered an alternative to big, heavy bookcases by considering the use of space — and, in particular, walls — in new and innovative ways. Mid-century modern credenzas, which, long and low, evolved from tables that were built as early as the 14th century in Italy, typically have no legs or very short legs and have grown in popularity as an alluring storage option over time.
Although the name immediately invokes images of clothing, dressers were initially created in Europe for a much different purpose. This furnishing was initially a flat-surfaced, low-profile side table equipped with a few drawers — a common fixture used to dress and prepare meats in English kitchens throughout the Tudor period. The drawers served as perfect utensil storage. It wasn’t until the design made its way to North America that it became enlarged and equipped with enough space to hold clothing and cosmetics. The very history of case pieces is a testament to their versatility and well-earned place in any room.
In the spirit of positioning your case goods center stage, decluttering can now be design-minded.
A contemporary case piece with open shelving and painted wood details can prove functional as a storage unit as easily as it can a room divider. Alternatively, apothecary cabinets are charming case goods similar in size to early dressers or commodes but with uniquely sized shelving and (often numerous) drawers.
Whether you’re seeking a playful sideboard that features colored glass and metal details, an antique Italian hand-carved storage cabinet or a glass-door vitrine to store and show off your collectibles, there are options for you on 1stDibs.