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1950s Teak Modular Danish Royal System Shelving by Poul Cadovius Office Desk Bar
About the Item
This highly versatile and functional “Royal System” was designed by Poul Cadovius in 1948. This particular piece is quintessentially Mid-century Modern being the first generation with orange-slice brass handles.
Simply hung on brass pins and hangers from holes that run the full length of the four uprights, offering a wide variety of storage and display options.
This particular modular arrangement comprises of two chests of drawers, each with three drawers, a drop down leather covered desk or bar with shelf, a lectern shelf for magazines, books or paperwork, two shelves and two twin-door cupboards with sliding doors - one with a shelf.
In lovely vintage condition, this piece has been very well looked after for the past 70 years!
4 x Uprights: 180cm H x 2cm D x 3.5cm W
2 x Chests of Drawers: 43cm H x 37cm D x 80cm W
2 x Cupboards: 33.5cm H x 28.5cm D x 80cm W
1 x Dropdown: 34cm H x 30cm D x 80cm W
2 x Shelves: 2cm H x 20cm D x 80cm W
1 x Lectern shelf: 3.5 H x 30cm D x 80cm W.
- Creator:Poul Cadovius (Designer),Royal System (Cabinetmaker)
- Dimensions:Height: 75.6 in (192 cm)Width: 96.07 in (244 cm)Depth: 14.57 in (37 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 12
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Sherborne, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4257230056702
Poul Cadovius
While Poul Cadovius is most famous for his modular floating shelving system, his career in design didn’t actually start with wall units.
Born just outside of Copenhagen in 1911, Cadovius began manufacturing window treatments in the 1940s with his partner, Hother Brønner. He soon turned his focus from venetian blinds to furniture, finding success designing svelte pieces in teak, a richly colored hardwood favored by the Danish mid-century modernists.
In 1945, Cadovius founded the furniture manufacturer Royal System with his designs, including the 1948 Royal System shelving unit, a space-saving solution that underscored Cadovius’s penchant for problem-solving in a multifunctional way. Rather than balance shelves on wooden or metal legs, it held them to the wall with brackets. He followed it with the System Ultra in 1957, the System Cado in 1960 and the System Abstracta, which was installed throughout the exhibition halls of the 1962 Cologne Furniture Fair. All expanded on his idea of wall-mounted shelving that saved space while offering functionality, allowing for limitless combinations of storage, shelves, work surfaces and other units. The Royal System proved to be especially popular and is still produced by Danish furniture brand dk3 today, with early models continuing to be in demand.
Along with the shelving systems, Cadovius designed everything from lounge chairs to mushroom-shaped bus shelters, and he held over 400 patents. In addition to being a designer, he was also an entrepreneur with an eye for opportunity, such as purchasing Danish manufacturer France & Søn in the mid-1960s and folded it into CADO, a company he founded years earlier. He used this as an occasion to experiment with his designs, conceiving such unusual pieces as an aluminum-based dining table topped with rosewood and hand-painted by artist Susan Fjedldoe Mygge.
Cadovius’s innovations in shelving continued throughout his career, with examples like the sculptural Butterfly shelf and vertical pieces mixing shelving and storage. In 2018, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Royal System, dk3 reissued the celebrated shelving system as well as a more compact version reimagined for 21st-century homes.
Find a collection of vintage Poul Cadovius storage cabinets, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
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