James Mont Seating
James Mont’s life as an unmistakably talented furniture designer and interior decorator could fill the pages of a best-selling novel or be reimagined as a Hollywood feature film. From the 1930s through the 1960s, Tinseltown’s glitterati and Manhattan’s Mafia underworld coveted his sofas, coffee tables and table lamps.
Mont was born Demetrios Pecintoglu in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1904 to a family of artists. He reportedly studied architecture and art in Spain and France, and during the 1920s, Mont immigrated with his family to the United States.
Mont and his family settled in New York, where he found work in a Brooklyn electrical supply shop. There he sold hardware and designed his own lighting fixtures. The latter caught the eye of a gangster named Frankie Yale, who commissioned him to refurnish his house. Mont’s opulent designs drew on Art Deco, Hollywood Regency and were occasionally marked by chinoiserie, then a very popular trend in decorating. He created the kind of low-profile side tables and sofas that are frequently associated with mid-century modernism, and he is credited today with helping popularize the integration of Asian influences in modern American design.
Mont soon attracted New York City’s most infamous crime bosses, including Charles “Lucky” Luciano and Frank Costello. For a range of mobsters, he created fashionable, functional and sophisticated pieces such as collapsible home bars that would fold down and out of view — a particularly convenient feature during Prohibition — and tables and desks with secret drawers, which were also handy to Mont’s shady clientele.
“You bought a bar from him, and he would also deliver booze in a baby carriage,” antiques dealer and furniture retailer Todd Merrill told New York about Mont in 2008.
Mont designed a room for the World’s Fair in 1939 and later befriended Hollywood celebrities such as Bob Hope, who was best man at his wedding, Irving Berlin and Lana Turner. During the 1940s and ‘50s, Mont continued designing furniture, mastering finishing techniques such as lacquering and incorporating a distinctive “leafing” print effect with silver and gold into his pieces.
Mont’s designs enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s, and his pieces continue to be sought after by collectors.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage James Mont sideboards, tables and storage cabinets.
Late 20th Century American Chinoiserie James Mont Seating
Textile, Wood
1970s American Hollywood Regency Vintage James Mont Seating
Lacquer
1980s American Hollywood Regency Vintage James Mont Seating
Upholstery, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Cane, Wood
1940s American Art Deco Vintage James Mont Seating
Velvet, Wood
1940s American Hollywood Regency Vintage James Mont Seating
Animal Skin, Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Upholstery, Wood, Fabric
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Wood, Fabric, Upholstery, Oak
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Textile, Upholstery, Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Ming James Mont Seating
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Mohair, Wood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Wool, Wood
1940s American Art Deco Vintage James Mont Seating
Silver Leaf
1950s American Hollywood Regency Vintage James Mont Seating
Mahogany
1950s American Hollywood Regency Vintage James Mont Seating
Upholstery, Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Leather, Bentwood
1950s American Hollywood Regency Vintage James Mont Seating
Upholstery
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Velvet, Hardwood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Upholstery
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Upholstery
1950s American Hollywood Regency Vintage James Mont Seating
Velvet, Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Leather, Wood
1950s American Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
1940s American Vintage James Mont Seating
Mohair, Upholstery, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Wood
1950s Vintage James Mont Seating
1930s Dutch Bauhaus Vintage James Mont Seating
Aluminum, Chrome
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Velvet, Beech
Mid-20th Century North American Chinoiserie James Mont Seating
Fabric, Wood
Late 20th Century Hollywood Regency James Mont Seating
Brass
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Velvet, Walnut
1940s Swedish Art Deco Vintage James Mont Seating
Velvet, Beech
20th Century Unknown Chinoiserie James Mont Seating
Brass
20th Century European Rococo Revival James Mont Seating
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency James Mont Seating
Wood, Lacquer
20th Century American Chinoiserie James Mont Seating
1940s Vintage James Mont Seating
Velvet
1940s French Vintage James Mont Seating
Oak
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Cane, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Brass
Mid-20th Century James Mont Seating
Lacquer
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Silk, Walnut
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Wood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Brass
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Upholstery
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Brass
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Seating
Textile, Wood, Fabric
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Seating
Velvet, Wood
1980s American Hollywood Regency Vintage James Mont Seating
Brass