Plycraft Furniture
While the history of Plycraft is marred by scandal and lawsuits, the American furniture manufacturer produced charming lounge chairs and other seating during the mid-century modern era that are sought after by collectors today.
Paul Goldman founded Plycraft in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1953 — he had secured military contracts for the manufacturing of bentwood products during World War II and was able to move into the commercial market thereafter. While Plycraft counted fiberglass boats among its early offerings, its primary focus switched to furniture when what we now call mid-century modernism hit its stride and more designers began to explore the possibilities of bentwood furniture thanks to the revolutionary work of Alvar Aalto and Michael Thonet. Goldman was Plycraft’s principal designer, but George Mulhauser and Norman Cherner were also enlisted to create furniture for the brand.
In 1952, a designer named John F. Pile, who was working in the studio of Herman Miller design director George Nelson, conceived what he called the Pretzel chair in walnut and birch. Pile’s seat, which was inspired by European modernist design, proved too costly to manufacture and it had structural problems. So the illustrious Michigan furniture maker subcontracted Plycraft to produce the Pretzel chair — an agreement that was short-lived owing to a dispute between Plycraft and Herman Miller.
Goldman subsequently tapped Norman Cherner — an innovative architect, designer and professor at Columbia University who was recommended by Nelson — to create an iteration of the Pretzel chair that would be stronger and cost-efficient to manufacture.
Cherner submitted a comfortable, curvaceous update to the Pretzel chair in molded plywood but was told by Plycraft that the project was being scrapped and his drawings shelved. Months later, Cherner was shocked to stumble upon his redesigned chair in a furniture showroom in New York under the Plycraft name. Cherner sued Plycraft and won — the Cherner chair later appeared in a Norman Rockwell painting on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
In the late 1950s, designer George Mulhauser created the Mr. Chair for Plycraft, an adjustable, tilting, swivel armchair with a matching ottoman. Mulhauser was also a designer in George Nelson’s studio and is credited with having conceived the iconic Coconut lounge chair for Herman Miller. With its tufted leather seat and shell crafted from a single sheet of plywood, the Mr. Chair lounge — part of a line of seating for which Mulhauser was commissioned — bears a resemblance to the now-legendary Eames lounge chair, which was designed by Ray and Charles Eames for Herman Miller. Mulhauser’s chair was very successful for Plycraft. A model was even spotted on an episode of Star Trek.
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Metal
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Plywood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Leather, Wood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Leather, Walnut, Bentwood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Naugahyde, Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Faux Leather, Wood, Walnut, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Leather, Walnut
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Metal
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Fabric, Plywood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Bentwood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Faux Leather, Teak, Walnut
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Steel
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Walnut
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Faux Leather, Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Abalone, Fabric, Polyester, Wood, Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Leather, Walnut, Plywood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Metal
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Walnut, Plywood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Plywood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Birch
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Steel
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Metal
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Steel
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Plywood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Leather, Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut, Bentwood, Lacquer
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Glass, Bentwood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut, Bentwood, Lacquer
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Naugahyde, Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut, Bentwood, Lacquer
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut, Bentwood, Lacquer
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Walnut
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Leather, Walnut, Scrap Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Wood, Walnut, Paint
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Wood, Birch, Bentwood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Silk, Plywood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Metal
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Naugahyde, Walnut
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Fabric, Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Plywood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Plywood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Naugahyde, Plywood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Faux Leather, Walnut
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Fabric, Plywood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Furniture
Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Formica, Bentwood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Plycraft Furniture
Upholstery, Formica, Bentwood