Six Walnut and Birch Vintage Cherner Armchairs for Plycraft
View Similar Items
Six Walnut and Birch Vintage Cherner Armchairs for Plycraft
About the Item
- Creator:Norman Cherner (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31 in (78.74 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 23 in (58.42 cm)Seat Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Please ask for condition report.
- Seller Location:St. Louis, MO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU91517157433
Norman Cherner
Norman Cherner was an influential designer who explored postwar technological innovations and how to incorporate them into furniture production and architecture. And while its history is complicated, his Cherner chair is one of the most successful examples of mid-century modern molded plywood seating.
Born in New York City, Cherner was an architect and a prolific designer who taught at Columbia University’s Teachers College. An enthusiast of the Bauhaus, he gave lectures in the late 1940s on the principles of the legendary German design school at the Museum of Modern Art.
Cherner was fascinated with the concept of cost-efficient design, and this extended into his pioneering ideas for prefabricated housing. His philosophy was that a modular home should be a complete design concept that included economical furniture and lighting. He published several DIY books, such as How to Build a House for $6,000. Cherner caught the interest of a housing cooperative in upstate New York and was contracted to design and oversee the construction of prefabricated housing in the town of Ramapo. The U.S. Department of Housing assembled a pre-built Cherner home for exhibition in Vienna.
But he is best known for his chair.
In the 1950s, one of George Nelson’s designers, John F. Pile, created the Pretzel chair. It had structural problems and proved too costly to make at Herman Miller, where Nelson was director of design. Production was subcontracted to Massachusetts company Plycraft, but the agreement didn’t last long owing to a dispute between the furniture manufacturers. Based on a recommendation from Nelson, Plycraft sought out Cherner to redesign the chair so that it would be durable and affordable to produce.
Cherner submitted his redesign only to be told that Plycraft had shelved the project. However, Plycraft secretly began producing what would become the Cherner chair under a different name — and Cherner later stumbled across his seat in New York. Cherner sued Plycraft and won. The chair became instantly popular after being featured in a Norman Rockwell illustration for a Saturday Evening Post cover in September of 1961.
Other noteworthy Cherner designs include his Konwiser furniture line, Multiflex storage units and tube lighting. The Museum of Modern Art praised his Konwiser collection as “some of the most progressive furniture designs available to the American public.”
In 1972, Plycraft discontinued production of his chair, and Cherner died in 1987. In 1999, his two sons founded the Cherner Chair Company and began making furniture based on their father's original designs for armchairs, chairs — including the Cherner chair — tables and credenzas.
Find vintage Norman Cherner furniture on 1stDibs today.
- Set of 5 Norman Cherner For Plycraft Steam Bent PlywoodBy Plycraft, Norman ChernerLocated in New York, NYSET of 5 American Mid-Century dining chairs with beige painted steam bent plywood frames and orange vinyl upholstered backs and seats. (NORMAN CHERNER FOR P...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
$22,500 / set - Iconic Mid Century Cherner Plycraft Bent Ply ChairBy Plycraft, Norman ChernerLocated in New York, NYIconic Mid Century bent plywood chair designed by Norman Cherner for Plycraft with original Plycraft label, dated 1964. This example is...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Plywood
- Set of Norman Cherner Pretzel Dining Chairs, Made by Plycraft, USA, 1960sBy Plycraft, Norman ChernerLocated in London, GBA set of four original Norman Cherner pretzel dining chairs, made by Plycraft, USA, in the 1960s. Bentwood frames. Priced for the s...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Set of 6 Bent Plywood Dining Chairs by Cherner for PlycraftBy George Mulhauser, PlycraftLocated in New York, NYRare set of six bent plywood chairs designed by Cherner for Plycraft. This set consists of four side chairs and two armchairs. The chairs are in excellent original condition, showing...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Plywood
- Norman Cherner for Plycraft, Set of 8 Original Chairs with Labels, Walnut VeneerBy Plycraft, Norman ChernerLocated in Wargrave, BerkshireNorman Cherner's 1958 'wasp-waisted' moulded plywood chair is an icon of mid-century furniture design. This set of eight original Norman Cherner dining chairs, was made by Plycra...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWalnut, Plywood
- Plycraft Chairs by Norman ChernerBy Norman ChernerLocated in Van Nuys, CAThis is a set of 4 colorful chairs designed by Norman Cherner for Plycraft. Each chair is painted in its own unique color: red, green, blue, and yellow....Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood
$5,060 / set