Architect and designer Kem Weber arrived in the United States in the vanguard of a wave of progressive Central European talents — among them, Rudolph Schindler, Richard Neutra, Paul T. Frankl and Ilonka Karascz — who would profoundly affect the course of modernism in the United States. In his new home, Weber created a wholly American form of modern design that is sleek and stylish, yet comfortable and practical.
Karl Emanuel Martin Weber — “Kem” was his self-styled nom d’usage — was born and trained in Berlin. In 1914, he became an accidental immigrant to the U.S.. Sent to San Francisco by his teacher-turned-employer, architect Bruno Paul, to oversee an installation at a global design expo, Weber was marooned by the outbreak of World War I. But he quickly grew to love California, even if his early years there were difficult. When design commissions were hard to find, he took jobs as a lumberjack, chicken farmer and art school teacher. (He gained U.S. citizenship in 1924.)
In the mid-1920s, while working for the Los Angeles–based Barker Bros. department store — the largest furniture retailer in the country at the time — Weber regularly traveled around the nation to deliver lectures on modernism. His reputation as a champion of a new, clean and elegant style earned him architectural commissions and contracts to design furniture and items such silverware, coffee services and cocktail shakers. His masterpiece is the Airline lounge chair, designed 1934-1935. With its raked, gently angular frame and cantilevered seat, the chair suggests movement, speed and forward progress. Though it seemed perfect for mass production, Weber was never able to convince a major manufacturer to take it on. In the end, fewer than 300 Airline chairs were made. Today, those may be the rarest examples of Weber’s work, but are always worth looking out for. As you will see on these pages, his designs are both intelligent and stylish. They deserve to be a part of any serious collection of American modernism.
Rare 1930s Art Deco/Machine Age, Streamline Black and Chrome Table, Kem Weber
By Kem Weber
Located in Buffalo, NY
Rare 1930s Art Deco/Machine Age, streamline black and chrome table, KEM Weber, have never seen in person, only in 1930s KEM Weber catalog, stunn...
Chrome
Kem Weber, Console Table, Wood, Chrome Metal, USA, 1930s
By Kem Weber, lloyd manufacturing co.
Located in High Point, NC
A wood and chrome plated metal console table designed by KEM Weber and produced by Lloyd Manufacturing Co. USA, 1930s. With manufacturers label to underside.
Chrome
$2,905
H 26.38 in W 26.19 in D 25.79 in
Antique French Art Deco Octagonal Side Table Geometric Oriental scene 1930 inlay
Located in Ijzendijke, NL
Marvelous French Art Deco octagonal table with superb Inlay 1930. This rare Art Deco piece is a stunning display of craftsmanship with numerou...
Wood
$4,850 / set
H 26.25 in W 19.75 in D 19.75 in
Pair of French Style Streamline Art Deco Glass Top Side Tables
Located in Bernville, PA
Pair of Art Deco streamline tulip shaped glass top side tables. This simple and elegant design from the period has frosted edge glass tops that are supported by gentle curving legs o...
Glass, Maple
$4,604
H 26.38 in W 25.6 in D 25.6 in
1930s Italian Art Deco Brutalist Rational Bookmatched Burl Walnut Table, Pagano
By Giuseppe Pagano Pogatschnig, Paolo Buffa, Gio Ponti, Gino Maggioni, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Grand Cayman, KY
A refined Italian Art Deco occasional table, side table or end table. Circa 1930s, it is veneered in richly figured book matched burl walnut. The piece reflects the transition betw...
Hardwood, Walnut, Burl
Art Deco American Streamline Glass Top Side Table, circa 1930
Located in Bernville, PA
Streamline glass top American Art Deco side table. Beautifully restored in a rich mahogany finish with a frosted edge glass top. An excellent example of American Art Deco with its so...
Glass, Maple
$5,850 / set
H 26 in W 12 in D 27 in
Pair Of Machine Age Art Deco Tables by Modernage Furniture Company C. 1930's
By Modernage Furniture Company
Located in Bernville, PA
Pair of American Art Deco side tables retailed and made by the Modernage Furniture Company. A three-quarter circle holds a long shelf with a smaller shelf at the apex. They are known...
Maple
Art Deco side table, 1930s
Located in Diest, BE
An elegant and authentic British Art Deco side table dating from the 1930s. This charming piece perfectly captures the sophistication of the era, featuring graceful lines, balanced p...
Wood
$1,650
H 21 in W 16 in D 24 in
Wolfgang Hoffmann Style Art Deco Chrome Tubular & Lacquer Micarta Side Table
By Wolfgang Hoffmann
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Art Deco side lamp table inspired by Wolfgang Hoffmann featuring a chromed round metal tubular frame in the "P" shaped legs that meet at the floor with two-tier black Lacquer style l...
Steel, Chrome
$4,533
H 24.02 in Dm 23.63 in
1930s Italian Art Deco Brutalist Rational Bookmatched Burl Walnut Table, Pagano
By Gio Ponti, Giuseppe Pagano Pogatschnig, Paolo Buffa, Osvaldo Borsani, Gino Maggioni
Located in Grand Cayman, KY
A refined Italian Art Deco occasional table, side table or end table. Circa 1930s, it is veneered in richly figured book matched burl walnut. The piece reflects the transition betw...
Hardwood, Walnut, Burl
1930’s Machine Age/Art Deco Black Chrome Side Table Bauhaus Period
Located in Bernville, PA
One of a kind Bauhaus Art Deco side table. Unique design with a black glass top, four chrome supports on a black lacquer base with chrome arrow accents. Table has been professionally...
Chrome
Chrome Bauhaus Art Deco Smoking Table, 1930s
Located in Praha, CZ
- Czechoslovakia, 1930s - Perfect original condition - Glass ashtray with minor damages - Polished.
Chrome
Stylized Art Deco Chrome and Mahogany Side Table
Located in Norwood, NJ
Art Deco chrome and mahogany side table. Four chrome plated rounded flat metal legs. Mahogany square top and base. Comes with glass top not photographed.
Metal, Chrome
KEM Weber for Lloyd T-84-D Cocktail Table
By Kem Weber
Located in Hanover, MA
Small rectangular cocktail table with black laminate top, chrome banding and arched tubular chromed steel legs by K.E.M. Weber, the father of California Modernism.
Chrome, Steel