James Mont Dining Room Chairs
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.
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Fabric, Upholstery, Oak
1940s American Art Deco Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Silver Leaf
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Hardwood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Bentwood
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Naugahyde, Hardwood
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Cotton, Linen, Beech
1980s American Chinoiserie Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Belgian Black Marble
1960s American American Craftsman Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century Spanish James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood
1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century French James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Brass
1930s French Art Deco Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany
1970s American Hollywood Regency Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Lacquer
1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Pine
Mid-20th Century James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Lacquer
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
1950s American Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Mohair, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
20th Century American Hollywood Regency James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1950s American Hollywood Regency Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Silver Leaf
1940s North American Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Silk, Wood
1950s American Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Mohair, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Mahogany
1950s American Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1950s American Vintage James Mont Dining Room Chairs
Bog Wood, Fabric