Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Sometimes called “knock-down” furniture, campaign furniture was designed to be folded, collapsed, taken apart and packed flat to load onto a ship or a camel’s back. Although mobile furniture for military campaigns dates back to the Romans, the British Army in its global conquests in the 18th and 19th centuries defined the style with sturdy and elegant pieces. Even in a tent thousands of miles from London, a four-poster bed, dining table and seating could simulate the comforts of home.
Antique and vintage campaign-style furniture was also initially designed as propaganda. The mahogany and teak structures were part of a purposeful demonstration of power in these campaigns, with the colonizing military officers imposing their culture and view of what they considered “civilized” on a given land and its peoples. Designers and manufacturers including Thomas Butler, Ross & Co. of Dublin, and Morgan & Sanders contributed to the rapid production of this furniture as the British Empire expanded through Africa, Asia and Australia.
Campaign furniture was utilitarian as well as refined, fitted with recessed brass handles and brass angles on stackable chests and other case pieces to protect vulnerable corners. The Wellington chest was one of the most famous pieces to come out of this style, named for the Duke of Wellington, who slept in his campaign bed long after his battles were over.
The flexibility of campaign-style furniture would influence 20th-century Scandinavian modernists such as Kaare Klint, Mogens Koch and Arne Norell. For his 1930s Safari chair, Klint drew on the simple Roorkhee chair, named for a town in northern India. The lightweight and adaptable campaign-style seat was created in the late 19th century and had no fixed joinery. The Roorkhee’s influence can also be seen in the Wassily chair, a pared-down work of tubular metal and durable canvas conceived by legendary Bauhaus instructor Marcel Breuer.
Now, 21st-century designers like Jomo Tariku and Dokter and Misses are creating pieces that recognize the contributions of African artisans to campaign furniture in order to reframe this style without overlooking its difficult past.
Find a collection of authentic antique and vintage campaign bedroom furniture, chairs, decorative objects and other pieces on 1stDibs.
2010s North American Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Leather, Wood, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Formica, Wood
1840s English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
20th Century French Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Mid-20th Century British Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1970s American Vintage Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
19th Century English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Late 19th Century British Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
1980s Vietnamese Vintage Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
19th Century British Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
19th Century English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1860s English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
19th Century British Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century American Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
1780s English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Mid-20th Century Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century British Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Leather, Hardwood
1940s French Vintage Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Oak
1820s American Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Early 20th Century British Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
Mid-20th Century American Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1940s French Vintage Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Oak
20th Century North American Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cherry
Early 20th Century British Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Hardwood
19th Century English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
1870s British Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1930s British Vintage Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Leather
Late 20th Century Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Teak
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
19th Century English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Mid-19th Century English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Late 19th Century Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1880s English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1880s English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
19th Century Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Elm
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1880s English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Early 1900s English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Late 19th Century English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Mid-19th Century English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1850s Chinese Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Late 20th Century American Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
19th Century English Antique Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Hardwood
20th Century British Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass