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Long Platform Bench, Model 4993, by George Nelson for Herman Miller
$5,800

About
Designed by George Nelson in 1946 as part of his inaugural collection for Herman Miller, the Platform Bench was intended to serve variously as seating, as a low table, or as a base for shallow case pieces. It features slats of finger-jointed hardwood in a natural finish set on ebonized trapezoidal supports. This rare 102-inch-long bench, model 4693, has three sets of legs and a rich patina.
Details
- CreatorHerman Miller (Manufacturer),George Nelson (Designer)
- Design
- DimensionsHeight: 15.25 in. (38.74 cm)Width: 102.25 in. (259.72 cm)Depth: 18.5 in. (46.99 cm)
- StyleMid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of ManufactureEarly 1950s
- ConditionWear consistent with age and use.
- Seller LocationDorchester, MA
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU837824646242
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: Dorchester, MA
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
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About the Design
Nelson Platform Bench
Designed by George Nelson
With its clean lines, sculptural shape and use of organic materials, George Nelson’s Platform bench reflected the American designer’s background in architecture and embodied modernist design. The bench, critical to the Basic Cabinet series he created for Michigan manufacturer Herman Miller — his first collection for the maker — demonstrates Nelson’s enthusiasm for honest, pared-down design. Nelson (1908–86) grew up in Connecticut and studied architecture at Yale University. While on a post-grad fellowship in Rome, he interviewed numerous pioneering modernist designers, such as Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and more for profiles that were published in American architecture journal Pencil Points. Nelson subsequently lectured at Yale and secured prominent architectural commissions, but his editor roles at Architectural Forum and Fortune magazine proved pivotal to his career. After Herman Miller founder D.J. De Pree caught wind of Nelson’s Storagewall — a modular storage concept codeveloped with architect Henry Wright that was featured in Life and in the pair’s book, Tomorrow’s House — he invited him to design modern furniture for the company. In 1946, Herman Miller debuted Nelson’s spare and versatile slatted-wood Platform bench. Initially comprising a birch top and ebonized wood legs, the bench’s metal base was integrated as an alternative in 1954. Nelson created his Platform bench for his office at Fortune before it found a home at Herman Miller, where it was marketed as seating, a low table or, per an Irving Harper–designed ad, a “plant rest.” It was discontinued in 1967, but the company reintroduced it in 1994. Today, the Nelson Platform bench is available from Herman Miller as well as Vitra (“Nelson bench”) in various sizes and finishes.
About the Seller
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