Royal Palm Lacquered Goatskin Credenza, USA

The Berlin-born, New York–based designer Karl Springer brought a chic, high-fashion sensibility to his coffee tables, mirrors, Lucite lamps and other furnishings. During his heyday in the 1970s, Springer’s work was a favorite of the glamour set, who enjoyed the novelty of pieces finished in rich and striking materials that ranged from exotic hides and skins to lacquer and chromed metal.

In a sense, Springer was a pre-postmodernist. Much as the dull, safe, corporate sameness of late 20th-century modernism prompted Ettore Sottsass, Michael Graves and others to explore new and provocative structures and materials in design and architecture, so, too, was Springer driven to enliven his creations with fresh and alluring energy and sleekness.

Springer came to New York in the late 1950s and found work arranging window displays at the department store Lord & Taylor. He had studied bookbinding in Germany, and, using his meticulous skills, he began crafting desk accessories wrapped in leather as a sideline. These pieces were sold in luxury stores like Bergdorf Goodman and drew a sophisticated clientele that included the Duchess of Windsor.

By 1965, Springer had established his own Manhattan atelier. It was Pierre Scapula, decorator to Jackie and Aristotle Onassis, who spotted Springer's disco-era Onassis chairs — which didn't yet have a name — first commissioned for a private residence in Acapulco, on the floor of the designer’s East 61st Street showroom. Jackie ordered barstools for the couple’s yacht, the Christina O, and dining chairs for their house on the Greek mainland.

At the time of his death, Springer had showrooms as far afield as Los Angeles, Tokyo and Munich.

The chairs, tables, credenzas and other furniture forms Springer created are generally simple, but substantial, and often have robust, rounded lines. The appeal of his work lies in Springer's insistence on exacting construction and, above all, his eye for unusual materials and finishes.

Springer employed Lucite, brass, and gunmetal along with chromed and polished steel, and revived exquisite finishes rarely seen since the days of Art Deco masters such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean-Michel Frank: shagreen (a type of sharkskin), python, goatskin, bone, horn, and lacquered parchment, as well as fabrics that include batik prints. Made of such materials, Springer’s work is by its very nature flamboyant and eye-catching: a suite of pieces will astonish, and an artfully placed side table in exotic hide will add a surprising spark.

Find a collection of vintage Karl Springer furniture today on 1stDibs.

Since its inception over 15 years ago, Todd Merrill Studio has established itself as a prime source for iconic high end vintage studio design, culminating with Todd Merrill’s seminal book on the subject Modern Americana: Studio Furniture from High Craft to High Glam (Rizzoli, 2008). Eager to discover today’s studio artists, Merrill launched Studio Contemporary in 2009, representing an international group of more than 30 established and emerging contemporary artists making unique, material-driven works in the “grey space” between art and design. Representing: Niamh Barry Colleen Carlson Ezra Cohen Sophie Coryndon Ekaterina Elizarova Hanna Eshel Marc Fish Pedro Friedeberg Stephane Graff K. Gretchen Greene Markus Haase Molly Hatch John Hersey Beth Katleman Karl Springer LTD Gary Magakis Shari Mendelson Gareth Neal Soraya Osorio Jake Phipps Yard Sale Project Chris Rucker Antonio Pio Saracino Robert Scott Erin Sullivan Clemens Weiss Please visit us at our year round gallery at 80 Lafayette Street in TriBeCa, New York or our seasonal gallery in Southampton, NY from May through September.