Carl Aubock, Letter Opener, Leather and Brass, Austria, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Werkstätte Carl Auböck (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.2 in (5 mm)Width: 9.45 in (24 cm)Depth: 1.19 in (3 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Tip with small damage.
- Seller Location:Stockholm, SE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1007010756451
Werkstätte Carl Auböck
In Vienna’s Neubau district, a beautiful Biedermeier townhouse has been home to the Werkstätte Carl Auböck for more than 100 years. Inside the workshop, where production continues to this day, countless objects line the shelves, walls, tabletops and desktops.
The Viennese artist and designer Carl Auböck II was one of the quirkiest and most delightful and collectible of modern designers. A rather odd duck in the world of decorative arts, he was a peculiar talent whose specialties included smaller desk accessories and tabletop pieces such as corkscrews, paperweights, letter openers, bookends and bottle stoppers. He rendered these pieces in a combination of metal — most often brass — and such elemental materials as leather, knobby wood and animal horn, creating forms that could be almost Surrealist, from hands and feet to keys, birds and amoebae.
As a boy, Auböck was precocious and artistic. He studied drawing and at the same time trained in the workshop of his father, Karl Heinrich Auböck, a popular maker of traditional bronze figurines and collectibles. In 1919, Carl II went to Germany to study at the Bauhaus, where he was a pupil of the progressive artist and theorist Johannes Itten. While the Bauhaus is most associated with the rigidly ordered, functionalist architecture of its directors Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the school was in reality a liberal, spirited place — a crucible for imaginative, playful and avant-garde art and design. It was this spirit that imbued Carl II’s work from the time he left in 1921.
In 1922 or ’23, Carl Auböck II returned to Vienna to help care for his ailing father, and he took over the business. He created the Werkstätte Carl Auböck and a legacy that earned his objects cult status among collectors. The business was passed on to his descendants, who run the atelier that is still in operation today. Today, objects designed by Carl II make up 90 percent of Werkstätte Carl Auböck’s production, joined by the creations of architect and designer Carl IV, his grandson.
Vintage Auböck designs have a special character, a patina that only emphasizes how much the pieces have been loved and used. Carl Aubock II’s small furniture items — leather- or caned-sling magazine racks; free-edge wooden side tables with tubular bronze legs; wicker serving trolleys with turned beechwood wheels — are elegant and purposeful. His bijoux desktop objects, library tools, ashtrays and barware pieces evince a kind of mirthful practicality. They seem to ask: “If you need a corkscrew, or a paperweight, or a candlestick, why not make it fun as well as functional?” And indeed, why not?
Find a collection of vintage Werkstätte Carl Auböck mirrors, seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Stockholm, Sweden
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Pair of Large Wall Fixtures, Attr. Carl Fagerlund, Sweden 1950sBy Carl FagerlundLocated in Stockholm, SEA pair of large (H 80 cm) wall fixtures. With three bulbs and glass shades on each fixture. Brass base. Sweden 1950s.Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Rare Umbrella Stand “Bighe” designed by Piero Fornasetti, Italy circa 1960By Piero FornasettiLocated in Stockholm, SEPiero Fornasetti umbrella stand “Bighe”. Lithographically printed metal and brass. Italy, circa 1960. Marked: FORNASETTI MILANO, MADE IN ITALY. Gold label: MADE EXPRESSLY FOR OHLSSO...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
MaterialsBrass
- Gunnar Ander Ystad-Metall Fireplace Tools, 1950sBy Gunnar Ander, Ystad-MetallLocated in Stockholm, SERare set of fireplace tools from Ystad metall designed by Gunnar Ander. Black iron with handles in brass.Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Fireplace Tools and...
MaterialsSteel
- Paolo Venini, Pendant, Italy 1950sBy Paolo VeniniLocated in Stockholm, SEPendant in Murano glass, by Paolo Venini, Italy 1950s. Total height 100 cm.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsGlass
- Table Mirror by Josef Frank, Firma Svenskt Tenn, Brass, Sweden, 1950sBy Nordiska KompanietLocated in Stockholm, SETable mirror in brass designed by Josef Frank for Firma Svenskt Tenn, Sweden, 1950s. Four pieces available, two different sizes. Measures: Height 47, diameter 38 cm 3 500 USD ...Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Table Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Lounge Chairs, Italian, 1950sLocated in Stockholm, SEA pair of lounge chairs, Italian, 1950s. Wool fabric, in need of reupholstering.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWool, Wood
- Carl Auböck Letter Opener in Leather and Brass, Austria 1960sBy Werkstätte Carl AuböckLocated in Berlin, DECarl Auböck leather and brass letter opener, Austria 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
MaterialsBrass
- Carl Auböck Letter Opener, Austria 1960sBy Werkstätte Carl AuböckLocated in Berlin, DECarl Auböck Leather and Brass Letter Opener, Austria 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
MaterialsBrass
- Carl Auböck Letter Opener, Austria, 1960sBy Werkstätte Carl AuböckLocated in Berlin, DECarl Auböck letter opener in horn, Austria 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Letter Openers
MaterialsHorn
- Carl Auböck Nickel-Plated Brass Leather Letter Opener, Paper Knife, 1950sBy Werkstätte Carl AuböckLocated in Vienna, ATA beautiful and solid nickel-plated brass letter opener or paper knife with black leather handle from the 1950s, designed an executed by Carl Auböck, Vienna / Austria. Marked item in...Category
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Letter Openers
MaterialsBrass, Nickel
- Auböck letter opener, 1950s, AustriaLocated in Vienna, ATAuböck letter opener made of brass and rattan, , 1950s, AustriaCategory
Vintage 1950s Letter Openers
MaterialsBrass
- Exceptional, Elegant and Heavy Brass Letter Opener by Carl Auböck, Vienna, 1950sBy Werkstätte Carl AuböckLocated in Munich, DEUnique Mid-Century Modern letter opener. Designed and manufactured by Carl Auböck in Vienna, Austria, 1950s. Executed in solid brass and leather. Measurements: L 8.07 in. x W 0.90...Category
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Letter Openers
MaterialsBrass