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Steelcase Tanker Chairs

Set of Four Steelcase Industrial Tanker Chairs
By Steelcase
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Set of 4 Steelcase model 233 industrial office chairs featuring an all-steel frame with lime vinyl
Category

Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs

Materials

Steel

Midcentury Steelcase Tanker Dining Table and Chairs Set
By Steelcase
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Midcentury steel Tanker dining table and chairs set features a table and four chairs made by
Category

Vintage 1950s American Dining Room Sets

Materials

Steel

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Mid-Century Modern Max Stacker Conference Office Chairs by Steelcase, 1970s
By Steelcase
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Mid-Century Modern Max Max-Stacker office conference room chairs by Steelcase in iconic orange. These comfortable lounge or desk chairs feature molded curved seats and backs with pol...
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Spectacular Eero Saarinen for Knoll Tulip Dining Table in Verde Alpi Marble
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Pair Modern Chrome Cantilever Chairs Oatmeal Hopsacking Steelcase Model 421 482
By Steelcase
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Pr. 1940's Open Arm Lounge Club  Chairs
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Steelcase Tom Grasman Chrome Frame Black Molded Plastic Stackable Chair Set of 4
By Steelcase
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Steelcase Tom Grasman Chrome Frame Black Molded Plastic Stackable Chairs - Set of 4. Circa 1996. Measurements: 32" H x 20" W x 23.25" D x 18.5" Seat height x 24" Arm height.
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Set of Four Eero Saarinen Series 71 Executive Armchairs for Knoll
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Featured in nearly all Florence Knoll-designed interiors, the Saarinen Executive Chair has remained one of Knoll's most popular designs for nearly 70 years. The design, which is now ...
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Recent Sales

Steelcase Industrial Tanker Chairs
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Steelcase available model 233 Industrial office chairs featuring an all steel frame with a green
Category

Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs

Materials

Steel

Steelcase Industrial Tanker Chairs
Steelcase Industrial Tanker Chairs
H 32 in W 18 in D 19 in
Steelcase Industrial Tanker Chairs
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Steelcase available model 233 Industrial office chairs featuring an all steel frame with a green
Category

Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs

Materials

Steel

Steelcase Industrial Tanker Chairs
Steelcase Industrial Tanker Chairs
H 32 in W 18 in D 19 in
Atomic Age Mid Century Tanker Style Rolling Office Chair
By Steelcase
Located in San Diego, CA
A classic American Office chair in original Naugahyde with steel frame swivels moves up and down
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs

Materials

Metal

Steelcase Model 233 Industrial Tanker Steel Office Chairs
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Steelcase available model 233 Industrial office chairs featuring an all-steel frame with a green
Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs

Materials

Steel

Mid Century Modern Brushed Metal Tanker Desk By Steelcase w/ Chair
By Steelcase
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Industrial metal double pedestal desks by Steelcase with great mid-century modern Good Form chair
Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Desks

Materials

Metal

Set of 4 Seafoam Green Model 233 Steelcase Industrial Tanker Chairs
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Steelcase Model 233 industrial office chair featuring an all-steel frame with a lime vinyl
Category

Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs

Materials

Steel

Grey Industrial Office Steel Tanker Chair, Set of Two
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Set of two industrial tanker chairs with steel frames and vinyl seat covers, reminiscent of
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Vintage 1950s American Chairs

Materials

Steel

Midcentury Steelcase Tanker Dining Table and Chairs Set
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Mid Century steel Tanker dining table and chairs set features a table and four chairs made by
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Vintage 1950s American Dining Room Sets

Materials

Steel

Set of 4 Steelcase Industrial Tanker Chairs **Saturday Sale**
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Steelcase Model 233 industrial office Chair featuring an all steel frame with a grey vinyl top
Category

Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs

Materials

Steel

Classic Pair Grey Industrial Office Steel Tanker Arm Chairs by Steelcase
By Steelcase
Located in Buffalo, NY
Classic pair Steelcase arm chairs, desk /office, excellent condition, superior quality and
Category

Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs

Materials

Metal

Pair of 1970s Steelcase Office Chairs, Refinished
By Steelcase
Located in Alhambra, CA
Classic pair of 1970s tanker-style office chairs by Steelcase. Newly reupholstered in cream linen
Category

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs

Vintage Steelcase Office Chair, Refinished in Black
By Steelcase
Located in Alhambra, CA
Classic tanker-style office chair by Steelcase. Newly refinished in a combination of black leather
Category

Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs

1970s SteelCase Office Chair, Refinished
By Steelcase, Mcdowell-Craig, General Fireproofing Company
Located in Alhambra, CA
Classic 1970s tanker-style office chair by SteelCase. Newly reupholstered in high quality dark grey
Category

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs

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A Close Look at Mid-Century Modern Furniture

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.

Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively. 

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.

Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

Finding the Right Seating for You

With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.

Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.

Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.

The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.

Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.

With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.

Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.

No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.