Desk Designed by Eliel Saarinen for Johnson Furniture Company
View Similar Items
Desk Designed by Eliel Saarinen for Johnson Furniture Company
About the Item
- Creator:Johnson Furniture Co. (Manufacturer),Eliel Saarinen (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 54 in (137.16 cm)Depth: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1940s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: f95501510023164663fs
Johnson Furniture Co.
Take a medal from the King of Sweden, a splash of the roaring twenties, and a series of talented designers and you get Johnson Furniture Co.’s elegant Art Deco and period-revival furnishings as well as a taste for why the Johnson name prevailed for over a century in American furniture manufacturing.
A wealth of forests rendered Grand Rapids, Michigan, a logging center during the 1800s. It eventually gained recognition for its furniture industry. The city became a destination for woodworkers who hailed from all over the United States as well as Europe, and Johnson Furniture Co. cofounder Carl Johnson, who had been recognized for cabinetmaking by the head of the royal family in his native Sweden, brought his royally acknowledged talents to America with his two brothers, Hjalmar and Axel in 1887. Together, they established Cabinetmakers Co. in Grand Rapids. In 1908, the brothers sold their start-up and founded Johnson Furniture Co.
Tom Handley, of the well-respected English furniture company Waring and Gillow, became an in-house designer with Johnson Furniture Co. in its early days. Handley would stay on as part of both the Johnson label and of Johnson-Handley-Johnson — a companion company that spun off from Johnson in 1922 — until his death in 1926. At the time, archaeological discoveries were all the rage. The greatest influence on Art Deco jewelry, for example, was the excavation of the tomb of King Tut in 1922, and some vintage Tom Handley designs were adaptations of Egyptian furniture. The brand specialized in a range of styles that included Art Deco, Chippendale, Queen Anne and more.
Acclaimed designer David Robertson Smith, who had made furniture in the Arts and Crafts style for the likes of Gustav Stickley, carried the Johnson Furniture Co. creative team into the early 1930s. Grand Rapids had by then become a thriving hub with respect to the mass production of furniture, and Smith’s sophisticated Dynamique line — a collection of coffee tables, cabinets and more in alluring woods such as walnut and mahogany and based on French furniture — was among the first mass-produced modern furniture made in America.
Johnson hired Lorenzo Rutili, a Carnegie Institute graduate who studied design in Europe, to lead the brand’s design division. Rutili oversaw 30 years of successful Johnson Furniture Co. collaborations with other notable designers including Paul Frankl, Eliel Saarinen, Bert England, J. Robert F. Swanson and Pipsam Saarinen Swanson. After wrapping up his tenure at Johnson, Rutili moved on to design furniture at Tomlinson in North Carolina.
During the 1960s, Kipp Stewart and Milo Baughman designed residential furnishings for Directional — a favorite of mid-century modern furniture enthusiasts — and Johnson produced these pieces, becoming the sole manufacturer for the North Carolina brand.
After a merger with Timberline Inc., Johnson Furniture Co. secured contracts for hotels, motels and university dormitories. In 1983, Johnson and Rose Manufacturing became RoseJohnson Inc. It was later purchased by La-Z-Boy.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Johnson Furniture Co. case pieces and storage cabinets, tables and other furniture.
- "Fred" Desk by Roberto Lazzeroni for Poltrona Frau, Leather Top SurfaceBy Roberto Lazzeroni, Poltrona FrauLocated in San Francisco, CA"Fred" Desk designed by Roberto Lazzeroni for Poltrona Frau, Italy. Desk frame is a solid Ash, and believe the color/stain is wenge. Leather desk top is made from a single piece of ...Category
2010s Italian Modern Desks
MaterialsLeather, Ash
$4,813 Sale Price44% Off - Dan Johnson for Hayden Hall Maple Chest of Drawers, 1946–47By Hayden Hall 1, Dan JohnsonLocated in San Francisco, CAA rare 1946–1947 mid-century modern three-drawer chest or dresser in maple by Dan Johnson for Hayden Hall. Early piece in a prescient contemporary-looking minimalist geometric style...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWood, Maple
- Pair of Dan Johnson for Selig Black Lacquered High-Back Lounge Chairs, 1950sBy Dan Johnson, SeligLocated in San Francisco, CArare pair of 1950s black lacquered high-back upholstered lounge chairs by Dan Johnson for Selig. Features elegantly tapered opposing curvilinear lines with a distinctive yet timel...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Rolled Arm Club Chair Ward Bennett for Geiger, a Herman Miller CompanyBy Ward Bennett, Herman Miller, Geiger InternationalLocated in San Francisco, CAOffered here is a Rolled Arm Club chair. Designed by Ward Bennett for Geiger, a Herman Miller Company.Category
2010s American Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
$1,600 Sale Price50% Off - Two Dedicato Bookcases Designed By Didier Gomez for Ligne RosetBy Didier Gomez, Ligne RosetLocated in San Francisco, CAOffered here are two Dedicato Bookcases Designed By Didier Gomez for Ligne Roset. Each unit looks to be an Ebony Oak, five shelves each starting with the bottom, which are not adjus...Category
2010s French Modern Bookcases
MaterialsAluminum
$1,440 Sale Price / item40% Off - “Vienna Modern” Flatware Design by Helmut Adler for Amboss Austria 59pc SetBy Amboss AustriaLocated in San Francisco, CAOffered here is a 59 piece set of “Vienna Modern” flatware Design by Helmut Adler for Amboss Austria 8 place settings, plus serving spoon, serving fork, ...Category
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Tableware
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Eliel Saarinen Designed Tall Dresser by the Johnson Furniture Co.By Eliel Saarinen, Johnson Furniture Co.Located in Palm Springs, CAChest of drawers designed by Eliel Saarinen for the Johnson Furniture Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Its design was part of the Flexible Home Arrangements (FHA) furniture colle...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsAluminum
- Saarinen 1940's Johnson Birch DeskBy Eliel Saarinen, Johnson Furniture CompanyLocated in Phoenix, AZEliel Saarinen for Johnson desk circa 1948. This rare example executed in birch has three drawers, sculptural s shaped legs and formed aluminum pulls. It has been masterfully restore...Category
Vintage 1940s North American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsAluminum
- 1948 Pair of Two-Door Cabinets by Eliel Saarinen & Swanson Johnson Furniture CoBy Eliel Saarinen, Johnson Furniture Co.Located in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a Pair of matching serpentine-leg 2-door credenzas/cabinets by Johnson Furniture Co from Grand Rapids. The cabinets were designed circa 1948 by the renowned trio o...Category
Vintage 1940s American Modern Cabinets
MaterialsMetal
- Paul Frankl for Johnson Furniture Company 'Pallet' Wooden Writing DeskBy Paul FranklLocated in New York, NYMid-Century wooden 'pallet' kidney-shaped desk with two drawers flush to desk edge, resting on three rectangular legs with rounded edges. (PAUL FRANKL FOR JO...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWood
- Johnson Furniture Company Chippendale Mahogany Writing DeskBy Johnson Furniture CompanyLocated in Louisville, KYThis a gem is a perfect smaller writing desk that lends itself to so many room layouts. As opposed to many larger desks that require ample space, this desk is far more versatile than...Category
20th Century American Chippendale Desks
MaterialsBrass
- 1939 Eliel Saarinen & Pipsan Saarinen Swanson Johnson Four Drawer DresserBy Johnson Furniture Co., Eliel SaarinenLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a gorgeous and beautifully restored Eliel Saarinen, J. Robert Swanson, and Pipsan Saarinen Swanson 4-drawer dresser, produced by Johnson Furniture Co. circa 1939. ...Category
Vintage 1930s American Modern Dressers
MaterialsMetal