When the Copenhagen-based furniture maker Fritz Hansen opened for business more than 140 years ago, the company — which today styles itself The Republic of Fritz Hansen — adhered to the traditional, time-honored Danish values of craftsmanship in woodworking and joinery. Yet thanks to the postwar innovations of Arne Jacobsen and others, Fritz Hansen would become the country’s leader in Scandinavian modern design using new, forward-looking materials and methods.
Fritz Hansen started his company in 1872, specializing in the manufacture of small furniture parts. In 1915, the firm became the first in Denmark to make chairs using steam-bent wood (a technique most familiar from birch used in the ubiquitous café chairs by Austrian maker Thonet). At the time, Fritz Hansen was best known for seating that featured curved legs and curlicue splats and referenced 18th-century Chippendale designs.
In the next few decades, the company promoted simple, plain chairs with slatted backs and cane or rush seats designed by such proto-modernist masters as Kaare Klint and Søren Hansen. Still, the most aesthetically striking piece Fritz Hansen produced in the first half of the 20th century was arguably the China chair of 1944 by Hans Wegner — and that piece, with its yoke-shaped bentwood back- and armrest, was based on seating manufactured in China during the Ming dynasty. (Wegner was moved by portraits he’d seen of Danish merchants in the Chinese chairs.)
Everything changed in 1952 with Arne Jacobsen’s Ant chair. The collaboration between the architect and Fritz Hansen officially originated in 1934 — that year, Jacobsen created his inaugural piece for the manufacturer, the solid beechwood Bellevue chair for a restaurant commission. The Ant chair, however, was the breakthrough.
With assistance from his then-apprentice Verner Panton, Jacobsen designed the Ant chair for the cafeteria of a Danish healthcare company called Novo Nordisk. The chair was composed of a seat and backrest formed from a single piece of molded plywood attached, in its original iteration, to three tubular metal legs. Its silhouette suggests the shape of the insect’s body, and the lightweight, stackable chair and its biomorphic form became an international hit.
Jacobsen followed with more plywood successes, such as the Grand Prix chair of 1957. The following year he designed the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen and its furnishings, including the Egg chair and the Swan chair. Those two upholstered pieces, with their lush, organic frames made of fiberglass-reinforced polyurethane, have become the two chairs most emblematic of mid-20th-century cool. Moreover, the Egg and Swan led Fritz Hansen to fully embrace new man-made materials, like foam, plastic and steel wire used to realize the avant-garde creations of later generations of designers with whom the firm collaborated, such as Piet Hein, Jørn Utzon (the architect of the Sydney Opera House) and Verner Panton. If the Fritz Hansen of 1872 would not now recognize his company, today’s connoisseurs certainly do.
Find a collection of vintage Fritz Hansen tables, lounge chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Danish 2-seater sofa, laminated beech and mahogany model AX by Peter Hvidt 1960.
By Fritz Hansen, Hvidt & Mølgaard
Located in JOINVILLE-LE-PONT, FR
Superb Scandinavian sofa composed of two movable armchairs, each with an armrest. With a simple and elegant design, these armchairs can be combined with low chairs, available in anot...
Fabric, Beech, Mahogany
Ax Chair by Peter Hvidt & Orla Mölgaard-Nielsen for Fritz Hansen
By Fritz Hansen, Hvidt & Mølgaard
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A pair of sculptural upholstered 'Ax' side chairs made of laminated teak and beech.
Beech, Teak
2005 Arne Jacobsen Series 3300 Easy Lounge Chairs in Striped Fabric
By Fritz Hansen, Arne Jacobsen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Series 3300 Easy Chair, originally designed by Arne Jacobsen for the SAS Air Terminal in Copenhagen in 1958. The listed price includes one chair, and we have 3 chairs avail...
Chrome, Steel
Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen Series 3300 Grey and Chrome Armchairs, Set of 2
By Arne Jacobsen, Fritz Hansen
Located in Rochester, England
Originally designed by Arne Jacobsen for the SAS Air Terminal in Copenhagen, the Series 3300 chair has a futuristic aesthetic. Featuring a slim tubular ...
Fabric
2005 Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen Series 3300 Easy Lounge Chairs, 2x Available
By Arne Jacobsen, Fritz Hansen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is Series 3300 Easy Chair, originally designed by Arne Jacobsen for the SAS Air Terminal in Copenhagen in 1958. The listed price includes one chair, and we have 2 chairs availab...
Chrome, Steel
Series7 Junior chair by Arne Jacobsen from 1955 and manufactured by Fritz Hansen, 2019
By Fritz Hansen, Arne Jacobsen
Located in Ravenna, IT
Serie7 Junior chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1955 and manufactured by Fritz Hansen, Copenhagen. With a curvaceous line, the Series7 is one of the Danish designer's most famous tr...
Metal
Fritz Hansen Rin Dining Swivel Chair Set by Hiromichi Konno (set of 2)
By Fritz Hansen
Located in Nagykovácsi, Central Hungary
Rin dining swivel chair sets of 2 manufactured by Danish Fritz Hansen, in collaboration with Japanese designer Hiromichi Konno. The design is inspired ...
Iron
Design Classic: Egg Chair and Ottoman by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen, 2000s
By Fritz Hansen, Arne Jacobsen
Located in Renens, CH
Egg Chair and ottoman in black leather by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen produced in 2016. The Egg chair by Arne Jacobsen hardly needs an introduction, considering it is one of the ...
Metal
2005 Set of Four Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen Ant 3101 Chairs in Natural Maple
By Fritz Hansen, Arne Jacobsen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a set of four “Ant” Chairs, Model 3101, designed by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen in 1952. These examples hail from 2005, and the listed price includes the set of four a...
Steel, Chrome
Set Of Four Series Seven Chairs Model 3107 In Black Fabric By Arne Jacobsen
By Fritz Hansen, Arne Jacobsen
Located in Lejre, DK
Set of 4 dining chairs, model 3107, also known as the "Seven Chair", designed by Arne Jacobsen and produced by Fritz Hansen. The chairs are originally upholstered in black fabric. Th...
Fabric
Easy Chair Upholstered With Sheep Wool By Fritz Hansen From 1930s
By Fritz Hansen
Located in Lejre, DK
This easy chair, crafted by Fritz Hansen in the 1930s, exudes timeless elegance and refined craftsmanship. Upholstered with luxurious sheep wool, it offers both comfort and sophistic...
Wool, Wood
Arne Jacobsen '1902-1971' Six Chaises Modèle 3101, Edition Fritz Hansen
By Arne Jacobsen, Fritz Hansen
Located in Mouscron, WHT
Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) six chaises modèle 3101, assises et dossiers en contreplaqué moulé laqué noir, piétement quadripode en métal tubulaire chromé. Edition Fritz Hansen. Danish ...
Plywood
1973 Verner Panton, 1-2-3 Serie Easy Chair in Original First Fabric
By Verner Panton, Fritz Hansen
Located in Amsterdam IJMuiden, NL
This item is part of the private collection of Casey Godrie and is situated in his private house. Ask him for competitive shipping quotes. His incredible Dune Villa, Amsterdam Beach...
Metal
1957, Arne Jacobsen, Set of Two Rare Vintage Laminated 3103 Dining Chair
By Arne Jacobsen, Fritz Hansen
Located in Amsterdam IJMuiden, NL
This item is part of the private collection of Casey Godrie and is situated in his private house. Ask him for competitive shipping quotes. His incredible Dune Villa, Amsterdam Beach...
Metal, Chrome
1955, Arne Jacobsen, Early Vintage Black Faux Leather 3107 Butterfly Chair
By Arne Jacobsen, Fritz Hansen
Located in Amsterdam IJMuiden, NL
This item is part of the private collection of Casey Godrie and is situated in his private house. Ask him for competitive shipping quotes. His incredible Dune Villa, Amsterdam Beach...
Metal
Fritz Hansen Arne Jacobsen Tall Oxford Chair White Leather 2007 3x Available
By Arne Jacobsen, Fritz Hansen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is an authentic (sold individually) labelled Arne Jacobsen tall oxford chair in white leather with a lovely brushed aluminum base. Three chairs are available. The ...
Aluminum