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Modern Games

MODERN STYLE

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”

Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.

Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chaircrafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.

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Style: Modern
Color:  Brown
Bjørn Wiinblad Rosenthal Studio-Linie Boxed Solitaire Game
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A stylish vintage German Rosenthal Studio-Linie original boxed ‘Keramik-Solitärspiel’ (Solitaire Game) by renowned Danish painter, designer and artist B...
Category

1970s German Vintage Modern Games

Materials

Porcelain, Wood

Contemporary Foosball Table with Walnut Wood and Bronze Glass by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
The Derby Wood is a visionary football table that pushes the boundaries of luxury design within the game table industry. Ambitiously reinterpreting the classics, this piece demonstra...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Aluminum, Chrome

Card Game Wall Decoration Sign, 1961
Located in Antwerp, BE
Vintage card game wall decoration sign. 1960s advertising sign with a typical card game scene: green playing card felt, playing cards, dice, a go...
Category

Mid-20th Century Belgian Modern Games

Materials

Other, Tin

Modern Foosball Table with Glass Playing Field by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
The Derby Canvas is a visionary Foosball table that pushes the boundaries of luxury design within the game table industry. Ambitiously reinterpreting the classics, this piece demonst...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Chrome, Aluminum

Modern Foosball Table with Smoked Glass Playing Field by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
The Derby Canvas is a visionary Foosball table that pushes the boundaries of luxury design within the game table industry. Ambitiously reinterpreting the classics, this piece demonst...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Aluminum, Chrome

Modern Oak and Glass Foosball Table by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
The Derby Wood is a visionary football table that pushes the boundaries of luxury design within the game table industry. Ambitiously reinterpreting the classics, this piece demonstra...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Aluminum, Chrome

Wood and Green Beechwood Foosball Table, Made in France
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 400 other unique products. Made in France from solid beech wood, this foosball / Babyfoot is the one you will find in F...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games

Materials

Metal

Mahjong Game Board in Black Polished Ebony Passione Di Gioco by Agresti
Located in New York, NY
Ebony polished mahjong with ruthenium brass parts.   
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games

Materials

Ebony

30's Mechanical Football Toy Game by Chester-Pollard Amusement Company-New York
By New York Furniture
Located in Madrid, ES
"30's Mechanical Football Toy Game" Manufactured by CHESTER-POLLARD AMUSEMENT COMPANY - New York City Mechanical football toy game from the 30s very rare cafe bar pub. See phot...
Category

Early 20th Century American Modern Games

Materials

Wood

Black and White Beech Wood Foosball Table, Made in France
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 400 other unique products. Made in France from solid beech wood, this Foosball / Babyfoot is the one you will find in F...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games

Materials

Metal

Multigame Set in Black Polished Ebony Notte Di Giochi by Agresti
Located in New York, NY
Polished ebony multigame. Contents chess, backgammon, dice, domino, playing cards and poker chips.  
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games

Materials

Ebony

Contemporary Pool Table with Dark Oak Legs and Smoked Glass by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
Filotto wood edition billiard table gives a new life, new characteristics, and new values to a Classic product. The design, construction, and workmanship of this work of genius are a...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Slate, Chrome

Black & Blue Beechwood Foosball Table with Aluminium Handles, Made in France
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 400 other unique products. Made in France from solid beech wood, this Foosball / Babyfoot is the one you will find in F...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games

Materials

Metal

Black and Orange Beechwood Foosball Table with Aluminium Handles, Made in France
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 400 other unique products. Made in France from solid beechwood, this Foosball / Babyfoot is the one you will find in Fr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games

Materials

Metal

Modern Glass Ping Pong Table With Walnut Base by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
The Lungolinea Wood ping pong table is a vision, a desire to ambitiously reinterpret the classics. It demonstrates the sophistication and ingenuit...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Chrome

Black and Red Beechwood Foosball Table with Aluminium Handles, Made in France
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Scroll down and click "view all from Seller" to see more than 400 other unique products. Made in France from solid beechwood, this foosball / Babyfoot is the one you will find in Fr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Games

Materials

Metal

Modern Pool Table with Dark Oak Legs and Glass Top Frame by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
Filotto wood edition billiard table gives a new life, new characteristics, and new values to a classic product. The design, construction, and workmanship of this work of genius are a...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Slate, Metal, Chrome

Modern Glass Pool Table With 24K Gold Plated Components by Impatia
Located in Milan, IT
The Filotto gold billiard table is a revived rendition of the Classic Filotto in Impatia's collection. The presented new edition radiates a sleek elegance, that is bound to become t...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Games

Materials

Slate, Gold Plate, Chrome

Teckell T1.1 Crystal 8-foot Pool Table in Black by Marc Sadler
Located in Brooklyn, NY
T1.1 Black pool table with black trim lures in both design aficionados and top players. The light dances across its handcrafted glass surfaces and glimmers when it strikes the black aluminum rails. The tempered glass playing field is at least 9/16” thick. A precise leveling system utilizing 12 screws is hidden inside the table’s black, solid oak base. Available in different options: Light Bronze structure DIMENSIONS: D. 58.26", W. 102.36", H. 32.28" WEIGHT: 727.52 lbs It features legs made of clear tempered crystal at least 0.59" th. with double-bevel edges that self-stabilize, a support made of solid wood hollowed out for the insertion of the glass, hiding a perfect system of regulation and a playing field made of a single sheet of tempered crystal at least 0.59" th. Simonis 860 worsted wool playing surface available in 25 colors. For the perfect game of style, Teckell pool tables’ surfaces are also available with Redaelli Velluti made in Italy cloths. Bases are in solid oak which has been ebonized (a reaction that turns black the open pore wood) with a shiny stainless steel structure. The pockets are made of smoked transparent thermoplastic. Solid aluminum rails with black anodized finish. Accessories included with the pool table: four professional and stylish cues, one set of Pool Balls Aramith and one rack. Cue rack and ceiling lamp are also available on request. Indoor use only. "T1" is the product of an encounter between an entrepreneur and a designer, a project that becomes a reality thanks to the savoir faire of a group of Italian companies highly specialized in making individual components: glass, steel, wood, but also special high-tech polymers for the pockets and the bumpers. A great team effort at the service of an original and elegant idea that puts together imagination, entrepreneurial brilliance, technology and ability, in order to reveal and give life to a unique object. "T1" pool table is available in an eight feet version, ideal for modern homes’ living spaces. The crystal in the T1 pool table now glows with light, its exquisite transparency accentuated. Studio Sadler researched and designed a unique LED lighting system, captivating crystal’s beauty shines. Teckell’s pool tables are a synthesis of innovation and tradition, art and design, technology and craftsmanship. These one-of-a-kind objects are the result of thinking way outside the box and maximizing the capacity of materials. MARC SADLER, French citizen born in Austria, currently lives in Milan. Experimentation with plastics has often formed a key part of his activity. He already showed a strong curiosity for the subject choosing it for his thesis at ENSAD in Paris. Citizen of the world (he has lived and worked for many years in Europe, North America and Asia), he is a consultant for companies in the fields of home furnishings, large and small household appliances, lighting, technically advanced products, and sports. At the beginning of the seventies, he perfect the first ski-boot in thermo plastic material completely recyclable, subsequently commercialized by the Italian firm Caber (later known as Lotto). He quickly gains the responsibility of the entire collections and starts a long and fruitful collaboration which led to the patenting of the ski-boot with a symmetric shell, which was for many years the most widely-sold ski-boot in the world. This is the origin of his specialization as a sports designer, which led him to close collaboration with the most important multinational sport companies in the United States, Asia and Europe, both in the sport shoes...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Games

Materials

Crystal, Stainless Steel, Aluminum

Chessboard "Homaage á Marcel Duchamp" with the L.H.O.O.Q. Mustache by Arman
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A shadow-box framed chessboard with the L.H.O.O.Q. mustache by Arman (1928-2005) entitled "Homaage á Marcel Duchamp". A screen-print on Skivertex leather chessboard. Framed behind g...
Category

1970s American Vintage Modern Games

Materials

Leather

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Carved Walnut Full Size Billiard Table and Accessories by Cox & Yeman
Located in Brighton, West Sussex
An exceptional carved walnut full size billiard table and accessories by Cox & Yeman. London, circa 1880. One end bearing an ivorine la...
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Antique Snooker Table or Billiard Pool Table Mahogany in Stock
Located in Radstock, GB
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Think Big Giant Matches and Matchbox
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Fantastic set of oversized matches and matchbox, made by Think Big NYC in 1984. Set contains all 8 original matches. Box slides open as a normal matchbox...
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Plastic, Paper, Felt, Wood, Paint

Think Big Giant Matches and Matchbox
Think Big Giant Matches and Matchbox
H 13.5 in W 20.25 in D 2.75 in
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Sky Card Game Leather & Stainless Steel
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H 3.86 in Dm 2.68 in L 3.86 in
Gilt Verre Églomisé, Cheap Funerals Trade Shop Sign Oliver Twist
Located in Lowestoft, GB
A rather tongue-in-cheek reverse painting and gilt doubled sided trade sign, reading "CHEAP FUNERALS" flippant to say the least. The sign shows signs...
Category

Early 20th Century English Modern Games

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19th Century Antique Ships Chandler Shop Advertising Sign
Located in Peabody, MA
A relic from Boston’s mercantile history and the seafaring trade. This 19th century shop sign displays a fairly detailed replica of a navigator’s octant (or sextant) and the proprietor’s name and street number...
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Custom Chess Set and Game Table
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A custom made walnut and maple chess set and game table we commissioned. It is solidly made with squares of curly maple and walnut. The table legs and borders are solid walnut. The c...
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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Games

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Birdseye Maple, Oak, Walnut

Custom Chess Set and Game Table
Custom Chess Set and Game Table
H 30.25 in W 36 in D 36 in
19th c Giant Wooden Advertising Thermometer NY Life Insurance Co "NYLIC"
Located in Savannah, GA
Giant sized forty seven inches tall wooden thermometer made by the Hoehn Company Thermomter Makers, Chambers Street, NYC. constucted of hard wood with a rounded top and beveled edges, it adverrtises NYLIC-New York Life Insurance Co. wanting Bright Young Men- Permanent Pay. Measuring Blood Heat, Summer Heat,Tempe Rate, Freezing and Zero, the glass thermometer...
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Cigars Store / Trade Folk Art Wooden Carved Sign. c 1900
Located in Buenos Aires, Olivos
American Folk art wooden "CIGARS" sign from the 1920's. Great old Store Trade sign. Wood cut to cigar shape. Lettered in Gold Paint. In good conditions, it was a in doors sign. Perfect for any cigar smoker. Cigars History: A cigar is basically dried tobacco leaves that are rolled and wrapped by other tobacco leaves in order to give you a full tobacco smoking experience. Cigars are becoming more popular all around the world recently because they are exposed to a pop culture where a lot of famous people like Michael Jordan and Arnold Schwarzenegger smoke them. In order to understand why cigars have become very well-known, we need to take a good look at their history and where they came from. That way, we can truly understand this pop phenomenon. Here is a brief history of cigars. Origin of Cigars The exact origin of cigars is not entirely known but historians believe that cigars were first invented by the ancient Mayans. The ancient Mayans would collect tobacco leaves and wrap them up in a plantain leave in order to smoke it. An ancient Mayan pot...
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Unique Dutch Arts and Crafts Oak & Coromandel & Brass Chess Table w. Drawer 1910
Located in Lisse, NL
Extremely rare and timeless, Dutch Arts and Crafts chess table. If you have been selling art and antiques as long as we have then you learn to recognize not only the difference between good quality and top quality, but also between rare and extremely rare. This unique Arts and Crafts chess table with...
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Vintage Leather Bridge, Poker Playing Card Game Case with 2 Card Decks
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage hand tooled leather bridge or poker playing card game case with 2 Card Decks. This playing card set with two decks comes in a luxu...
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Previously Available Items
Vintage Handmade Chess Set in Marble, Compact
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A wellmade small-sized chess games in natural stone / rainforest marble. The chess board doubles as a box that stores the pieces. It was bought circa 1975 by its previous owner in th...
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1970s Vintage Modern Games

Materials

Marble

Vintage Handmade Chess Set in Marble, Compact
Vintage Handmade Chess Set in Marble, Compact
Free Shipping
H 1.78 in W 7.09 in D 7.09 in
Soma Mini Cube Sculpture
Located in Richmond, VA
Hand-carved soma cube puzzle sculpture in a mix of 7 brightly colored semi-precious stones that form a perfect square (with 32 ways to solve). A beautiful co...
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21st Century and Contemporary Peruvian Modern Games

Materials

Stone, Serpentine, Soapstone

Soma Mini Cube Sculpture
Soma Mini Cube Sculpture
H 1.75 in W 1.75 in D 1.75 in
Backgammon Table and Chairs
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Backgammon Anyone! Backgammon Table and 2 attached Chairs! Leather seats and leather playing surface. Aluminum Frame and seat construction. Very Solid and Substantial! Probably dates to the 80's or early 90's. Very Unique Design! Comes with Aluminum checkers (36) pieces and leather caddy...
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1980s American Vintage Modern Games

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Aluminum

Backgammon Table and Chairs
Backgammon Table and Chairs
H 30.75 in W 58.5 in L 30.75 in
Michael Graves Two Tone Chess & Checkers Set, circa 2000
Located in New York, NY
A carved wood chess and checkers set with board and box by famed architect Michael Graves. Chess board is two-toned wood and signed; each chess and pawn p...
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Late 20th Century American Modern Games

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Resin, Wood

Michael Graves Chess Set, circa 2000
Located in New York, NY
Carved wood chess and checkers set with board and box by famed architect Michael Graves. Chess board is marked with Graves tag; each chess and pawn piece is signed Graves; USA, circa...
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Late 20th Century American Modern Games

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Resin, Wood

Michael Graves Chess Set, circa 2000
Michael Graves Chess Set, circa 2000
H 2.75 in W 16.5 in D 16.5 in
Italian Onyx and Brass Chess Set
Located in Denton, TX
Combination of white and green onyx on a walnut frame with brass chessman. The wood box is covered in gold embossed leather with upholstered interior. This set includes game board, b...
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20th Century Italian Modern Games

Materials

Onyx, Brass

Italian Onyx and Brass Chess Set
Italian Onyx and Brass Chess Set
H 1.13 in W 18 in D 18 in
German Football Toy Game from the 30s
By Viking Germany
Located in Madrid, ES
"German Football Toy Game From The 30s" German 30's mechanical football toy game very rare cafe bar pub. See photos to get an idea Measures: 112cm x 54cm x 92cm Everythi...
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Wood

Miguel Ortiz Berrocal Mini-Zoraida Puzzle Sculpture
Located in New York, NY
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Chrome

Miguel Ortiz Berrocal La Mini Cariatide Puzzle Sculpture
Located in New York, NY
Miguel Ortiz Berrocal (Spanish, 1933-2006) "La Mini Cariatide," 1968-69, puzzle sculpture, number 8726 from the edition of 9500 in chromed metal, stamped signature mark and number on...
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Chrome

1970s Modern Bumper Pool Table Set with Original Mustard Yellow Felt
Located in Chattanooga, TN
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Set of Buccellati Sterling Silver Dominoes in Original Case
Located in New York, NY
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Late 20th Century Italian Modern Games

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Sterling Silver

One of Two Asprey Made in Italy Pearl Poker Chips Cards Dice Burr Walnut Sets
Located in GB
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Modern games for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Modern games for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage games created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include more furniture and collectibles, tables, decorative objects and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Modern games made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and Spain pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original games, popular names associated with this style include IMPATIA, RS Barcelona, Adriano Design, and Teckell. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for games differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $125 and tops out at $77,000 while the average work can sell for $5,850.

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