Dan Kiley Tall Cabinet

Unit furniture of Philippine mahogany with white Masonite panels consisting of a module with sliding Masonite doors and a double wide module with an open front. Designed by Harvard-educated, Boston-area architect, designer, and urban planner Carl Koch as a corollary to his prefabricated Techbuilt houses and produced in 1955. Koch was a pioneering champion of prefabrication in housing in mid-century America, first with his much-publicized but ill-fated all-steel Lustron houses in the late 1930’s, then with his more successful wooden Tech-Built houses, introduced in 1953. In At Home with Tomorrow, his 1958 paean to prefabrication, he lays out his opposition to the traditional hammer-and-handsaw construction methods that remained dominant even with conceptually modernist structures. His designs generally hewed to a regional brand of modernism rather than orthodox international style, taking into account local topography and climate—his iconic form is an A-frame with a pitched roof, more sensible in New England winters than a flat roof (though there are such Techbuilt designs). The basic Techbuilt formula suggested that modular, industrial production methods of the components combined with knock-down shipping and on-site assembly equalled lower cost and less waste. Variety and individuality could be achieved in how the elements were combined. This underlying philosophy involving modularity, flexibility, and industrial production methods applied to Spacemaking furniture as well, although interestingly enough, the furniture design preceded the architectural application, as Koch (et al) had submitted a version to the 1947 MoMA Low-Cost Furniture Competition (and so these units also preceded the famous 1951 Eames Storage Unit, a conceptually similar idea executed with metal framing). The furniture line began with requests for freestanding wardrobe...

Unit furniture group with a California mid-century vibe, possibly a DIY project, comprising four boxes, all of Douglas fir plywood, sitting atop a plinth base, presented here in a sk...

Aquatint and drypoint etching by Pablo Picasso titled “Dans l’Atelier III,” executed in 1965. Number 34 from an edition of 50. Signed l/r Picasso, numbered lower left. In a custom gi...

First edition of Bernard Rudofsky’s idiosyncratic and iconoclastic discussion of modern living conditions in postwar America, published by Oxford University Press in 1955. 201 pages, 8vo, hardcover with pictorial dust jacket. Several black-and-white illustrations. Rudofsky (1905-1988), an Austrian/American architect, curator, critic, industrial designer, exhibition designer, fashion designer, and author is best-known for his controversial exhibitions and accompanying catalogs, including Are Clothes Modern? (MoMA, 1944), Architecture Without Architects (MoMA, 1964), and Now I Lay Me Down to Eat (Cooper-Hewitt, 1980). He is also famous for his mid-century Bernardo sandal designs, which are popular again today. Behind the Picture Window...

Tall cabinet with central projection, it opens with two leaves and a drawer belt and poses on high arched feet. It is clad in an elegant rosewood and amaranth inlay with geometric pa...

A versatile Hollywood glam tall mirrored cabinet produced by Ello Furniture circa 1970's. It features stacked mirror doors in art deco form, chro...

Antique French carved oak tall cabinet faux chest of drawers Louis XIV style. ~Direct from France~ ~Highly carved 19th century French cabinet/chest i...

The compact dressing cabinet / tall chest of drawers was designed by Raymond Loewy. The cabinet has a tall door on the left and 7 drawers on the right with c...