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Folke Ohlsson Lounge Chair for DUX, circa 1950s

About the Item

Lounge chair by Swedish designer Folke Ohlsson for Dux, circa 1950s. This super comfortable lounge chair features a restored exposed teak framework with patinated brass details and a newly upholstered seat and back in a classic Mid-Century Modern blue. With it's beautiful dropped arms and cushioned body, this will become the chair of choice to sink into, whether it's in your living room, office, or bedroom. Brand new foam and fabric hold its shape and will hold your body. If you're looking for a classic Mid Century Modern showstopper, look no further. Dimensions: 28"H x 29.25"W x 18.5"D Seat Height: 16" About the Designer: Folke Ohlsson was a born in Malmo, Sweden in 1919 and died in Atherton California in 2003. Folke studied at the School of the Gothenburg Society of Industrial Design before he began working for Swedish furniture and bedding manufacturer, Dux. In 1950 he moved to the United States with only a suitcase full of clothes and exact miniature scaled model furniture of his own design. He also carried a cardboard carton that contained the broken-down components of one of his chairs. Many other Swedish designers tried to bring “Swedish Modern” design to the United States market, most notably at the 1939 World’s Fair, but all doing so “haphazardly” Ohlsson once claimed in the Vestkusten newspaper. According to Ohlsson, when he arrived in the United States he took his suitcase and cardboard carton to hotels all over the country inviting salesmen, department stores, and decorators to view his miniature designs and watch as he disassembled and reassembled his chair. He quickly became notorious for his patented “knock-down” construction that reduced shipping and storage costs and helped to make Dux a household name in the USA. Early in his design career Ohlsson almost exclusively designed in natural beech blond wood until critics quickly forced him to move to darker walnut and teak woods. At its peak production in 1955, the Dux line was sold in all 50 states including Alaska and Hawaii and grossed upwards of $1,000,000. Folke Ohlsson won a Gold Medal at the 1951 Milan Triennale and was given the Good Design Award by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His furniture was one of the first exhibits featured at Stanford’s art museum. Ohlsson’s pioneering knock-down concept revolutionized furniture production and transportation and lead to the birth of global companies such as IKEA today.

Creator:

Dux of Sweden (Manufacturer),Folke Ohlsson (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 29.25 in (74.3 cm)Depth: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)

Style:

Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Brass,Teak,Upholstery

Place of Origin:

Sweden

Period:

1950-1959

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1950

Condition:

Refinished. Reupholstered.

Seller Location:

San Diego, CA

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU6417234442522

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Shop All Dux of Sweden

Dux of Sweden

Today, Swedish manufacturer DUX’s most popular furniture lines — as well as the furnishings created by its first president, Folke Ohlsson — are synonymous with the work that vintage mid-century modern design obsessives love. Also important, the brand is known for some of the most commonplace means of furniture shipping and production in the modern era.

In Sweden, Studio Ljungs Industrier AB is the large family-owned parent company of Duxiana (in America, DUX). Initially a purveyor of bedding that is today celebrated for its ergonomically guided designs, Ljungs Industrier was founded by entrepreneur (and chocolate maker) Efraim Ljung in 1926. In 1950, Folke Ohlsson, then leading Ljungs Industrier’s design team, decamped to the States to explore how he could expand DUX’s business, which at that point included a wide range of furniture. Ohlsson established a DUX office not long after he arrived in California, first in San Francisco and later in Burlingame.

On the West Coast, the booming postwar American market was eager to embrace DUX’s affordable and practical bedroom furnishings, tables, armchairs and other seating. Characterized by sleek walnut and teak frames and low-slung silhouettes, the brand’s designs were emblematic of a generation of Scandinavian modernism that had gained popularity owing to visionaries such as product designer and architect Greta Magnusson-Grossman, who arrived in California from Sweden a decade prior to Ohlsson, and Finn Juhl, who created a Danish modern line for Michigan’s Baker Furniture Company in 1951.

DUX frequently collaborated with top-tier furniture design talent — among them Bruno Mathsson, Edward Wormley and Alf Svensson, a chief designer in the Malmö, Sweden, office of Ljungs Industrier — expanding the brand’s portfolio and establishing credibility as a design source. Ohlsson’s own designs, such as his comfortable leather lounges and wool-upholstered reclining rocking chairs, continue to be among the brand’s most desirable — and most imitated — however.

In 1949, DUX put into practice an idea that Ohlsson patented for the so-called “knock-down,” or “KD,” chair, a term referencing easy, flat-pack assembly. It saved DUX space in warehouses and money on transportation and was a concept that would provide inspiration to hundreds of subsequent companies — most notably fellow Swedish brand IKEA.

Today, vintage DUX sofas and dining chairs are valuable collector’s items. Find this coveted seating and other authentic DUX furniture on 1stDibs.