Joe Colombo for Bieffeplast Boby Trolley
About the Item
- Creator:Joe Colombo (Designer),Bieffeplast (Manufacturer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 29.53 in (75 cm)Width: 16.93 in (43 cm)Depth: 16.93 in (43 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1968
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Byron Bay, AU
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4258232402692
Joe Colombo
He died tragically young, and his career as a designer lasted little more than 10 years. But through the 1960s, Joe Colombo proved himself one of the field’s most provocative and original thinkers, and he produced a remarkably large array of innovative chairs, table lamps and other lighting and furniture as well as product designs. Even today, the creations of Joe Colombo have the power to surprise.
Cesare “Joe” Colombo was born in Milan, the son of an electrical-components manufacturer. He was a creative child — he loved to build huge structures from Meccano pieces — and in college he studied painting and sculpture before switching to architecture.
In the early 1950s, Colombo made and exhibited paintings and sculptures as part of an art movement that responded to the new Nuclear Age, and futuristic thinking would inform his entire career. He took up design not long after his father fell ill in 1958, and he and his brother, Gianni, were called upon to run the family company.
Colombo expanded the business to include the making of plastics — a primary material in almost all his later designs. One of his first, made in collaboration with his brother, was the Acrilica table lamp (1962), composed of a wave-shaped piece of clear acrylic resin that diffused light cast by a bulb concealed in the lamp’s metal base. A year later, Colombo produced his best-known furniture design, the Elda armchair (1963): a modernist wingback chair with a womb-like plastic frame upholstered in thick leather pads.
Portability and adaptability were keynotes of many Colombo designs, made for a more mobile society in which people would take their living environments with them. One of his most striking pieces is the Tube chair (1969). It comprises four foam-padded plastic cylinders that fit inside one another. The components, which are held together by metal clips, can be configured in a variety of seating shapes (his Additional Living System seating is similarly versatile).
Vintage Tube chairs generally sell for about $9,000 in good condition; Elda chairs for about $7,000. A small Colombo design such as the plastic Boby trolley — an office organizer on wheels, designed in 1970 — is priced in the range of $700.
As Colombo intended, his designs are best suited to a modern decor. If your tastes run to sleek, glossy Space Age looks, the work of Joe Colombo offers you a myriad of choices.
Find vintage Joe Colombo lamps, seating and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Byron Bay, Australia
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Giovanni Michelucci Serena Chest of Drawers for Poltronova, 1955By Giovanni Michelucci, PoltronovaLocated in Byron Bay, NSWGorgeous and rare "Serena "chest of drawers mod. Serena in walnut wood, designed by Giovanni Michelucci for Poltronova, 1955, Italy. Signed piece.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWalnut
- Murano Glass and Brass Chest of Drawers by Lumini CollectionsLocated in Byron Bay, NSWIncredible unique design contemporary multicoloured Murano glass and brass chest of Drawers. Chest of drawer with timber structure, covered in Murano glass, detailed in brass includ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Ch...
MaterialsBrass
- Functional Contemporary Cabinet Sculpture by the Italian Artist Paolo LuminiLocated in Byron Bay, NSWStunning contemporary sculpture but also a functional cabinet by Paolo Lumini an Italian contemporary artist from Tuscany. Made in carved wood and bamboo.Category
2010s Italian Modern Cabinets
MaterialsBamboo, Wood
- Lino Sabattini Table Lamp for ChristofleBy Lino Sabattini, ChristofleLocated in Byron Bay, NSWLino Sabattini Silver Plated Table Lamp by Christofle, France 1960s. Silver plated tube with Perspex middle section.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Willy Rizzo Dining Chairs for Mario SabonBy Mario Sabot, Willy RizzoLocated in Byron Bay, NSWUnique Willy Rizzo for Mario Sabot set off four dining chairs made of curved wood lacquered in black shiny colour and leather padded cushions, custom made for these chairs, and hold ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Tito Agnioli for Matteo Grassi Korium ArmchairsBy Tito Agnoli, Matteo GrassiLocated in Byron Bay, NSWLeather armchair Korium Tito Agnoli for Matteo Grassi. Sophisticated, stylish and very comfortable is this Korium full leather arm chair which was designed by Tito Agnoli in the 1970...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather
- Brown 'Boby' trolley by Joe Colombo for Bieffeplast, Italy 1970'sBy Joe Colombo, BieffeplastLocated in Steenwijk, NLThis “Boby” trolley or portable storage system was designed by Joe Colombo in 1969. A very handy trolley made of ABS plastic. It has many storage options such as the fold-out shelves...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsPlastic
- Joe Colombo ''Boby 3'' Italian Portable Storage System for Bieffeplast, 1960sBy Joe Colombo, BieffeplastLocated in Roma, ITDesigned in 1969, Joe Colombo’s iconic "Boby 3" portable storage system was produced by Italian manufacturer Bieffeplast makes savvy use of space with its swivel design. This compact caddy is featured in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, but it’s perfect at home in domestic settings, offering ample storage with swing-out drawer trays provide and cubby holes for taller items. A one-of-a-kind piece that will complete a studio or a midcentury office. Measures (cm): height - 74 depth - 41 width - 43 Born in Milan in 1930, designer Cesare Colombo—who went by Joe—was the second of three brothers. His father, Giuseppe, was an industrialist who inherited a ribbon factory and turned it into an electrical conductor manufacturer. Colombo came to design relatively late, having spent most of his twenties pursuing painting and sculpture. He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Brera, Milan, in the early 1950s. While there, he joined the Movimento Nucleare, an avant-garde art movement founded by Enrico Baj and Sergio Dangelo in 1951. Spurred on by international anxiety surrounding the nuclear bomb, this group of painters aimed to break free of the static boundaries of traditional painting. In 1953, Colombo made his first foray into design by creating a decorative ceiling for a Milan jazz club. In 1954, he made a series of television shrines for the Milan Trienniale. Inspired by these experiences, Colombo enrolled as an architecture student at Milan Polytechnic. When his father became ill in 1958, Colombo abandoned painting altogether; he and his younger brother, Gianni, took over the family business, using the factory as an experimental space for the latest production techniques and materials, including fiberglass, PVC, and polyethylene. In 1962, Colombo opened a design studio in Milan, from which he worked primarily on architectural commissions—including several ski lodges and mountain hotels—as well as product design. His furniture designs were characterized by optimistically bold, round forms, and he championed the notion of using modern technologies to create new design solutions. Colombo’s design career was cut tragically short in 1971 when he died of heart failure at age 41. However, he was remarkably prolific during his near decade as a designer. Notable projects include some of the most iconic designs of the 1960s, such as his 1963 Elda Armchair, made completely of fiberglass; the 1964 Ragno outdoor light, which doubled as a seat; the stackable Universale chair (1965/67), which came in varying heights and was created completely from polypropylene; his 1967 modular furniture series known as the Additional Living System, which was composed of different-size curved pieces that could be pinned together in various configurations to form chairs, sofas, or entire living areas, and which ultimately included the famous 1969 Tubo lounge chair; and the Optic alarm clock and Bobby trolley...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsPlastic
- 1970s Black Boby Trolley by Joe Colombo for BieffeplastBy Joe ColomboLocated in San Gabriel, CA1970s black plastic Boby Trolly cart by Joe Colombo for Bieffeplast with 6 storage drawers. Made in Italy. Some small scuffs and dulling of the plastic. Si...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsPlastic
- Boby storage cabinet with wheels and compartments by Joe Colombo for BieffePlastBy Joe Colombo, BieffeplastLocated in Milano, ITFamous object trolley designed by Joe Colombo in the 1960s and produced by BIEFFEPLAST. The trolley for sale is dated 1980. It is in good condition, with small marks due to wear an...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Cabinets
MaterialsPlastic
- Red Boby cart by Joe Colombo for Bieffeplast 60s, 70sBy BieffeplastLocated in Padova, ITBoby is much more than a simple container, it is the container trolley that has made design history. Functionality and detail represent its strong points which, together with its und...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsPlastic
- Vintage Boby Trolley by Joe ColomboBy Joe ColomboLocated in Philadelphia, PAItalian Post modern plastic storage Boby trolley by Joe Colombo for Bieffeplast. designed in 1968. Iconic design, Logo and signature present. features several storage compartments a...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Cabinets
MaterialsPlastic
