France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Danish manufacturer France & Søn is best known for its prolific output of elegant mid-century modern furnishings in teak and leather, yet its multinational beginnings took shape during the 1930s.
After businessman Charles William Fearnley France (1897–1972) moved from his native England to Denmark in 1936, he began to operate a small mattress factory alongside his friend Eric Daverkosen, a Danish cabinetmaker, under the name France & Daverkosen. Shortly afterward, Daverkosen passed away, and when Denmark was invaded during the Second World War, Charles was captured and sent to a prison camp in Germany. When he was released, the British entrepreneur set out to produce furniture in the early 1950s, setting up a shop in Hillerød to manufacture the kind of sleek beech and teak goods that were gaining widespread acclaim around the world. In 1957, France’s son James joined the business, and the company changed its name to reflect the addition.
Throughout the ’50s and ’60s, France & Søn produced a stunning array — and staggering quantity — of designs, with elegant modernist lounge chairs and armchairs, teak and rosewood dining tables and other furnishings by the likes of Finn Juhl, Grete Valk, Ole Wanscher, Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen all gracing its catalogues.
Even as there was a focus on mass production at France & Søn — and the brand doesn’t quite enjoy the same renown as fellow mid-century Danish furniture makers such as Carl Hansen & Søn — Charles France believed in making quality furniture, and the company’s offerings evoke the warmth of the handcrafted work that is typically associated with Scandinavian modernism.
In the 1960s, the company was bought by Danish designer Poul Cadovius, who folded it into the operations at CADO, a company he founded during the 1950s. Surviving examples of early work from the brand as well as modern icons by the likes of Verner Panton that followed in later years continue to be in demand.
Find a collection of France & Søn furniture on 1stDibs.
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Teak
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Teak
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Walnut
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary English Post-Modern France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Oak, Walnut
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Walnut
1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Vintage France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese French Provincial France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Wood
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Wood, Wicker, Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Rustic France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Teak
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Teak
1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Teak
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Teak, Cane
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage France & Son More Furniture and Collectibles
Teak
