Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Emerged during the mid-20th century
Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
A heyday of innovation in postwar America
Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
Promotion of functionality

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

Charles and Ray Eames
Eero Saarinen
Milo Baughman
Florence Knoll
Harry Bertoia
Isamu Noguchi
George Nelson
Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.

Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.

Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

Style: Mid-Century Modern

Creator: Werkstätte Carl Auböck

Carl Auböck Model #7259 'Spiral' Brass Pen Holder

Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #7259 'Spiral' Brass Pen Holder

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Letter Opener, Austria 1960s

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #8040-2 Patinated Brass Knob

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #8040-2 Polished Brass Knob

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4056 Brass Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4982 Polished Brass Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Aubock Sculpture "Man With Stick" 4060

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #5261 Hook in Nickel

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3530 'Flatiron' Brass and Cane Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #1937 'Bamboo' Bookends

1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Cactus Holder, Vienna, Around 1950s by Auböck

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3652 Brass Bookends

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #8040-1 Knob in Nickel

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4982 Hook in Nickel

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Horn Pen Holder, Austria, 1960s

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #8040-2 Knob in Nickel

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Handcrafted Midcentury U-Shaped Brass Key Ring Chain Holder Knopferl

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Midcentury Lucky Charm Pig Brass Figurine Key Ring Chain Holder

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4327 Nickel-Plated Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #3653 Brass Bookends

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Midcentury Brass Seahorse Handmade Key Ring Chain Holder

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Midcentury Elephant Handmade Brass Figurine Key Ring Chain Holder

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Horn Penrest, Austria 1960s

1960s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Letter Opener in Leather and Brass, Austria 1960s

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #5261 Polished Brass Hook

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Grouping of Eight Carl Auböck Brass Bookends

2010s Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck #3650 Large Fountainpen Rest "Feather", Austria

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Pair of Large Carl Auböck Model #4101 'Melies' Patinated Brass Bookends

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Handcrafted Midcentury Hand Brass Figurine Key Ring Chain Holder

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Handcrafted Midcentury Brass Shell Figurine Key Ring Chain Holder

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Handcrafted Midcentury Hand Figurine Key Ring Chain Holder

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Midcentury Tuning Fork Handmade Key Ring Chain Holder

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Model #4982 Patinated Brass Hook

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Midcentury Very Large Hand Figurine Key Ring Chain Holder

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Handcrafted Midcentury Peanut Brass Figurine Key Ring Chain Holder

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Midcentury Brass Star Sea Star Starfish Key Ring Chain Holder

20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Handcrafted Midcentury Brass Anchor Figurine Key Ring Chain Holder

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Pair of Carl Auböck Model #4575 Patinated Brass Bookends

Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories

Carl Auböck Monumental Brass Foot Sculpture, Werkstätte Auböck, Austria

21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories