2021 BM0949P Contour Lounge Chair by Borge Mogensen for Carl Hansen in Walnut

Among the great mid-20th century Danish furniture designers, Børge Mogensen distinguished himself with his faith to traditional values of craftsmanship and honesty of materials.

While peers such as Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl and Arne Jacobsen designed some of the most striking and now iconic furnishings of the era, Mogensen focused on making chairs, sofas and other pieces that were simple, durable and comfortable — and in the long run perhaps more useful and better loved.

Mogensen studied under and later worked for Kaare Klint, a master cabinetmaker whose chief tenets were quality of construction and simplicity of line. Klint was a classicist, who believed that furniture forms should evolve from those of historical models. So, too, in his way was Mogensen, as two of his best-known earlier pieces attest.

His 1945 Spokeback sofa, with hinged arms that can be lowered to facilitate lounging, is a reinterpretation of the venerable Knole settee. With the oval silhouette of its plywood backrest and waterdrop-shaped cutouts, Mogensen’s Shell chair, designed in 1949, can be seen as a novel take on early 19th-century Empire side chairs.

Yet Mogensen shared the aesthetical sensibilities of his most forward-looking colleagues. His cabinets deploy the same spare geometries and lushly figured woods as those of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his disciple Florence Knoll, the chief difference being that Mies and Knoll used chrome steel for the frames and legs of their pieces. The brawny oak frames and slung leather seats and backrests of Mogensen’s Hunting chair (1950) and Spanish chair (1958) display the same hefty construction and appreciation of natural materials seen in the work of Charlotte Perriand and Sergio Rodrigues.

Mogensen designed for function more than sculptural effect. While his chairs may not be the first pieces in a décor to draw the eye, they are often the first to draw in those looking for a comfortable seat.

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Family-owned since its inception, Carl Hansen & Søn has been one of the most prestigious furniture manufacturers in Denmark for more than a century. The firm has produced timeless masterpieces of Scandinavian modernism by iconic designers Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, Børge Mogensen and others.

In 1908, cabinetmaker Carl Hansen opened his first small workshop near Odense, Denmark, where he created furniture by hand in the preferred Victorian style of the times. Hansen expanded his operations by 1915 due to high demand. The larger factory allowed room for more modern machinery and a staff of many journeymen who produced a small series of their most popular pieces, including coffee tables, cabinets and sculptural, inviting armchairs. The firm became known for marrying the finest handmade craftsmanship with efficient production processes.

The Great Depression of the 1930s saw worldwide furniture sales plummet, and many furniture manufacturers were forced to shutter their workshops. At the age of 23, furniture maker Carl Hansen’s youngest son, Holger, took control of his father’s factory and piloted it through the era’s uncertain waters.

Holger Hansen’s youthful enthusiasm, innovative spirit, and intuitive business savvy kept their company afloat. He believed in the quality of the firm’s work and the cutting-edge designs that were produced at its factory, which emerged from modest beginnings to become a pivotal piece of the history of Danish furniture.

Owing to Holger’s leadership, Carl Hansen & Søn emerged from the Great Depression and entered into creative alliances with many acclaimed Danish masters of mid-century design, including Kaare Klint, Børge Mogensen, Arne Jacobsen, Ole Wanscher, Frits Henningsen and Poul Kjærholm.

None of these partnerships proved as prolific as their relationship with Hans Wegner, however. In 1949, the cabinetmaker moved to Denmark’s Funen Island and was staying in Holger’s family home, as the then-Carl Hansen CEO had commissioned Wegner to create a chair for the company that was similar to his popular China chair of 1944.

Wegner began to work closely with the company’s craftsmen and devised a streamlined chair with a Y-shaped back and woven paper-cord seat. The legendary Wishbone chair, which still involves nearly 100 processes and takes weeks to make, has been in continuous production since its 1950 debut.

Carl Hansen & Søn has manufactured some of the most extraordinary chairs, sofas and lounge chairs for living room relaxation in the history of design. Their dining room tables and chairs run the gamut in style and functionality, from everyday comfort to elegant entertaining. The company’s impressive roster of contemporary designers includes renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the Vienna-based design firm EOOS and celebrated American industrial designer Brad Ascalon. They remain the world’s largest producer of Wegner’s furniture and still enjoy a collaborative relationship with the Hans J. Wegner Studio.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Carl Hansen & Søn chairs, tables, case pieces and other furniture.