Harvey Probber Upholstered Club Chair
View Similar Items
Harvey Probber Upholstered Club Chair
About the Item
- Creator:Harvey Probber (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)Width: 29.75 in (75.57 cm)Depth: 27.5 in (69.85 cm)Seat Height: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Some scratching to the wood frame. Upholstery in great condition. Rear cushion slightly firm.
- Seller Location:Bridport, CT
- Reference Number:Seller: Limelight Collections1stDibs: LU90111957192
Harvey Probber
A popular designer who had his heyday from the late 1940s into the 1970s, Harvey Probber is one of the post-war American creative spirits whose work has been recently rediscovered by collectors. His designs are by-and-large simple and elegant, but his signal achievement was to pioneer one of the key innovations of mid-20th century furniture: sectional, or modular, seating.
Even as a teenager, the Brooklyn-born Probber was making sketches of furniture designs — and selling them to Manhattan furniture companies. He began working as a designer for an upholsterer once he finished high school and, apart from a few evening classes he took as an adult at the Pratt Institute, he was self-taught about design and furniture making.
After wartime service — and a stint as a lounge singer — Probber founded his own company in the late 1940s. A lifelong familiarity with the needs of New York–apartment dwellers doubtless sparked his most noteworthy creation: a line of seating pieces in basic geometric shapes — wedges, squares, half-circles — that could be arranged and combined as needed. Modular furniture remained the core idea of Probber’s business throughout his career.
As a self-trained designer, Probber was never wed to any particular aesthetic. He preferred simple lines for their inherent practicality, but often used hardware to enliven the look of his pieces, or added elements — such as a ceramic insert in the center of a round dining table — that was visually interesting and could serve as a trivet. He gravitated toward bright fabrics with attractive, touchable textures that might be satin-like or nubbly. Above all, Probber insisted that the products that came out of his Fall River, Massachusetts, factory be built to last.
“The quality of aging gracefully,” Probber once told an interviewer, is “design's fourth dimension.” This quality he realized: Probber furniture is just as useful and alluring now as it was when made — and maybe even more stylish.
Find a collection of vintage Harvey Probber side tables, sectional sofas, chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Mid-Century Modern Upholstered Barrel Club Chair Attributed to Harvey ProbberBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Brooklyn, NYMid-Century Modern, club chair attributed to Harvey Probber features a round, barrel shape, walnut frame with rosewood trim is newly upholstered in a raspberry tweed, cotton linen bl...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Rosewood, Walnut
- Adorable Pair of Harvey Probber Club ChairsBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Chicago, ILAdorable pair of Harvey Probber club chairs. Can be used as occasional chairs, game chairs or slipper chairs. Proportions are compact, low in height and comfortable. We have six tota...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
$7,500 / set - Harvey Probber Attributed Clean Line Club Chair 1940sBy Harvey ProbberLocated in New York, NYClean line upholstered club chair attributed to Harvey Probber, American 1940's. Newly upholstered in eggplant mohair by Lobel Modern. These early stream...Category
Vintage 1940s Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsMohair, Wood
- Mid-Century Club Chair and Ottoman by Harvey ProbberBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Dorchester, MAThis classic mid-century club chair by Harvey Probber offers a comfortable rest with down-filled cushions on an upholstered frame set on mahogany feet. The corresponding ottoman feat...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsMahogany, Textile, Down
- Mid-Century Club Chair in the Style of Harvey ProbberBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Dorchester, MAThis commodious mid-century club chair, reminiscent of the work of Harvey Probber, is a classic tuxedo style with a down-filled back cushion. It has been beautifully reupholstered in...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Harvey Probber Tuxedo Lounge ChairBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Chicago, ILTuxedo club chair by Harvey Probber. Reupholstered in teal fabric in the 1990s, which is in good condition.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsFabric