Lübke Armchairs
Cor is Latin for heart, and COR furniture exemplifies the qualities at the heart of exceptional design: practicality, comfort and style. The company, which is owned and operated by the Lübke family, created in the postwar years a range of sofas, lounge chairs and coffee tables that capture the essence of the best of mid-century modernism. Simple silhouettes, quality materials and function-first designs ensure that vintage COR furniture is still in high demand with collectors all over the world.
COR was founded in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany, in 1954 by Leo Lübke — in the name of his son, Helmut — and the Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg, a northern German county. Nearly a couple of decades prior, in 1937, a manufacturer of bedroom furniture called Interlübke was established by Leo and his brother Hans. The latter’s son Horst, who was managing partner from 1972, retired during the 1990s and his son Helmut Lübke joined Interlübke and shifted the brand’s focus toward modular furniture systems. During the 1980s, the Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg left COR and the Lübke family became its sole owner. In 2006, COR-Interlübke retail locations opened their doors.
COR made its mark in 1959 with a sleek modular seating system consisting of five parts called Quinta, which was created by designer Michael Bayer. The upholstered line boasted clean, angular contours and appealed to the day's ever-broadening flexible interior design sensibilities. It remained in production until 1978. The success of the Quinta was followed by the 1964 Conseta system, which featured a sofa and other pieces of seating designed by Friedrich Wilhelm Möller.
The following decades saw more successful collaborations with designers like Peter Maly and Luigi Colani. The latter, a German industrial designer born Lutz Colani, created a range of gorgeous organically shaped Space Age seating for BASF and Fritz Hansen, serveware for Rosenthal and worked on automobile designs for Fiat. Colani designed the popular Orbis line for COR during the 1970s.
In 2000, the Arthe sofa by Wulf Schneider was awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award from the North Rhine-Westphalia Design Centre.
COR is still owned and operated by the Lübke family’s parent company Gebrüder Lübke GmbH & Co. KG and continues to produce furniture at the Rheda-Wiedenbrück factory, sourcing leather from southern Germany and upholstery from Italy. The company partnered with Jehs+Laub, a renowned Stuttgart-based studio, in 2010.
Find a collection of vintage Lübke furniture on 1stDibs.
1960s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Steel
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Wood
1970s Danish Brutalist Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Leather, Wood
1970s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Lübke Armchairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lübke Armchairs
Fabric, Beech
1970s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Lübke Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood
1970s Italian Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Leather
1970s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Brass
Late 20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Lübke Armchairs
Iron
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Leather
1970s European Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Wood, Elm
1970s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Fabric
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Lübke Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
1960s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lübke Armchairs
Leather, Wood
