Items Similar to Harvey Probber & Jack Lenor Larsen Happiness Sectional Sofa, Lacquer Red 1968

Sexy Jack Lenor Larsen Red Velvet Sofa Sectional

Milo Baughman Sectional Sofa with Jack Lenor Larsen Style Upholstery

Harvey Probber Sectional Sofa

Paul McCobb Directional MCM Sectional Sofa Jack Lenor Larsen Primavera Fabric

Harvey Probber Tuxedo Sofa in Jack Lenor Larsen Velvet

Erwin Lambeth MCM Circular Sectional Pit Sofa Original Jack Lenor Larsen Fabric

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 12

Harvey Probber & Jack Lenor Larsen Happiness Sectional Sofa, Lacquer Red 1968

Name: Harvey Probber & Jack Lenor Larsen Happiness Sectional Sofa, Lacquer Red 1968
Brand: Harvey Probber
Price: 11520 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Harvey Probber & Jack Lenor Larsen Happiness corner sectional sofa, lacquer red, 1968-1972. Gorgeous low slung modern sectional seating set of three. This is a truly extraordinary, museum-worthy set. Certain Larsen designs have captured the public’s imagination and are recognized as “signature” pieces. According to company records, the Happiness design was inspired by a Chinese robe and Ming Dynasty embroideries in the collection of the Henry Art Gallery of the University of Washington, where Larsen did his undergraduate work. It was introduced with four colorways – amethyst quartz, Ming gold, lacquer red and mandarin blue – as part of the 1968 Pleasure Dome of Kublai Khan collection, which took a broader, thematic approach that utilized traditional patterns and imagery of Silk Road countries, from China to Uzbekistan. Happiness features the traditional Chinese motifs of clouds, waves, and rainbows that Larsen had seen on Ming dynasty embroideries. The original Happiness was a complex design requiring ten separate screens for its production. Production of Happiness fabric was complex and, depending on the colorway, ten to eleven print screens were required to achieve the crisply delineated and shaded colorings of the pattern. Almost all Larsen screenprints were produced by hand. The popularity of the happiness design led to its revival in 1972, when it appeared in two new colorways, Red and Red Earth. When they developed the Red Earth color-way they felt that it needed more delineation between color masses so they added black details. In order to achieve this effect they added one more screen and had to remake all of the originals. This sectional features the original Happiness design (without introduction of black screen print). Therefore we can date this sofa to the 1968-1972. Measures: End with no arm - 24 x 22 x 24” H Center curve - 32 x 60 x 24” H End/ corner piece - 32 x 32 x 24” H.

Creator:

Jack Lenor Larsen (Designer),Harvey Probber (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 108 in (274.32 cm)Depth: 32 in (81.28 cm)

Sold As:

Set of 3

Style:

Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Mohair,Textile,Wool

Place of Origin:

United States

Period:

Mid-20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1968

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. Minor structural damages. Minor fading. Fair vintage condition. Some marks, some faded areas, some fraying, one older repair to back of curved piece. See all photos.

Seller Location:

Brooklyn, NY

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU4190321038482

View Invoice

Shop All Harvey Probber

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.