Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.
Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
6
to
5
1
6
6
6
6
6
6
1
1
Height
to
Width
to
Depth
to
6
3
3
3
1
6
6
110
69
40
21
15
Style: Mid-Century Modern
Creator: UMS Pastoe
Mid century PT10 serving cart by Cees Brakeman for Pastoe, Netherlands 1950s
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in ECHT, NL
Mid century serving cart. Model PT10 designed by Cees Brakeman for Pastoe in the 1950s. It has two trays made of shaped plywood. The frame is also made of plywood. Well designed piece with very nice details. It stands on the original castors. The cart can be disassembled. It was sold originally as flat packed furniture. For shipping it will be disassembled for safer and easier transport. Easy to put back together again with the original brass bolts.
The wood gained a beautiful dark patina through the years.
UMS Pastoe b.v. is a Dutch furniture manufacturer from Utrecht, which designs and produces furniture under the Pastoe brand name. This company was founded on April 13, 1913 in Utrecht as UMS, which stood for Utrechtse Machinale Stoel- en Meubelfabriek. The name Pastoe comes from "passe partout" and was added to the name after the Second World War
Well-known designs are the wire steel chair SM05 by Cees Braakman and Adriaan Dekker, the cabinets by Aldo van den Nieuwelaar and Vision by Karel Boonzaaijer and Pierre Mazairac. Pastoe has worked with graphic designers such as Dick Bruna and Benno Premsela, photographers such as Ed van der Elsken and Cas Oorthuys and designers such as Shiro Kuramata, Shigeru Uchida, Maarten Van Severen and Vincent van Duysen.
Frits Loeb founded the factory in 1913 under the name Utrechtse Machinale Stoel- en Meubelfabriek (UMS). This was located at Oosterkade 30 in Utrecht. The furniture that was produced was initially intended for his store at the Ganzenmarkt in Utrecht, but soon it was sold at various points of sale in the Netherlands.
When the space on the Oosterkade had become too small, the factory moved around 1918 to the building of the former Tegelfabriek 'Holland' on the Rotsoord. Since 2016, the factory has been on the Tugboat in Houten.
UMS focused on the general public with its furniture. Business manager and designer Dirk Lubertus Braakman varied on the designs of the Amsterdam school. Although the business design style did not suit the taste of the general public, UMS continued to engage in innovative design, with influences from Scandinavia and art deco.
After World War II
After the Second World War, Loeb found an empty factory. He decided to rebuild UMS, with his cousin Frits Ullman assisting him. In the first years after the war, UMS mainly worked on behalf of third parties and did not yet have a permanent collection. Around 1947, the factory set a different course, with contemporary design central. In 1948, the new brand name Pastoe was introduced, which was added to the abbreviation UMS.
Business manager and designer Cees Braakman, after a study trip through the United States, introduced a new technique of curved plywood and persuaded Loeb and Ullman to use this production method. Due to the use of this new technique, no more reference was made to the craft. New materials such as plywood finished with oak and birch veneer characterized the designs. The new production technique provided the subdued and sober design that later became the company's trademark. UMS Pastoe joined the Good Living Foundation.
The focus of the UMS Pastoe collection was mountain furniture, where the consumer could put together a cabinet himself. This new concept of flexible cabinet systems was developed in 1955 in the cabinet system Meubelen-naar-maat. In this series, the cabinet could not only be assembled by the consumer himself, but also expanded later. This series was a great success at home and abroad. This became clear when the teak version was awarded a silver medal in 1957 at the 11th Triennale in Milan and Le Signe d'Or in Belgium.
In 1968, the company received the BKI Award for the innovation of PVC-coated chipboard that is milled transversely; the plates could then be folded into a cube. This technique was applied in the 1967 Pastoe Cube...
Category
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Plywood
1950's "ROLO" PB31 Tea Trolley by Cees Braakman for Pastoe
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Oud-Turnhout, VAN
Vintage Midcentury Modern Dutch Design "ROLO" Tea Trolley by Cees Braakman for UMS Pastoe Utrecht. Model PB31. Made in the Netherlands / Holland, 1950's period. Birch plywood constru...
Category
1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Birch, Plywood
Mid-Century Modern Teakwood Bar Cart - Cees Braakman Model PT10
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Casteren, Noord-Brabant
Cees Braakman design teakwood serving trolley for UMS Pastoe.
Category
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Teak
Cees Braakman Trolley, Serving Cart, UMS Pastoe, 1950s
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Schagen, NL
Very nice design (Tea) trolley by Cees Braakman for Pastoe in the 1950s. It shows cosmetic wear but no structural issues, cracks or instability. Its tray can be removed. Signed piece!
Category
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Plywood
Elegant Serving Trolley by Cees Braakman for Pastoe, Netherlands, 1950s
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Voorburg, NL
Beautiful serving trolley in totally original state. Designed by Cees Braakman and produced by UMS Pastoe. The trolley has a solid teak frame and glass plates with original rubber pr...
Category
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Glass, Teak
Mid-Century Pastoe Teak Rolling Cart by Cees Braakman
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mid-Century 2 tiered teak rolling cart designed by Dutch post-war icon Cees Braakman for Pastoe. Beautiful and delicate teak trays with upturned edge...
Category
1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Teak
Related Items
Aalto Tea Trolley Model 901 for Artek, 1950s
By Alvar Aalto, Artek
Located in Helsinki, FI
Aalto Tea Trolley Model 901 for Artek, circa 1950s. Model created in the 1930s. White linoleum top with birch frame and white lacquered wood wheels with rubber rings...
Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Rubber, Birch
Mid-Century Rolling Bar Cart
Located in New York, NY
This versatile cart was designed for use as a bar or serving cart, with an open lower shelf, two drawers for storage and a pull-out tray lined with black glass for serving. Finished ...
Category
1940s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Fir
Italian Design Mid-Century Bar Cart, 1950s
Located in Casale Monferrato, IT
Rare 1950s Italian desgin serving bar cart. Made of beech wood equipped with two glass shelves and brass wheels for convenient movement. Perfect for serving drinks to your guests. Vi...
Category
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Glass, Beech
Johannes Andersen Bar Cart/ Serving Trolley in Teak, 1960 Denmark
Located in The Hague, NL
Teak serving trolley by Johannes Andersen, 1960s Danish modern serving cart in teak and cane attributed to Johannes Andersen for CFC Møbler....
Category
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Cane, Teak
Wicker Trolley Bar Cart, 1950s
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
A beautiful trolley table or tea cart made of a black painted metal frame with wicker shelves manufactured in midcentury in Austria, circa 1950.
The wicker is in excellent condition. Wear of use on the metal particularly on the handles.
The trolley is in the style of the wicker carts...
Category
1950s Austrian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Metal
Vintage italian serving trolley by Cesare Lacca, 1950s
By Cesare Lacca
Located in HEVERLEE, BE
Fifties serving trolley or bar cart by Cesare Lacca.
Stunning and elegant italian design with original glass and a mahogany and brass frame.
Good condition with age related wear.
...
Category
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Wood
Italian Mid-Century Modern Brass Bar Cart
Located in Houston, TX
Italian Mid-Century Modern brass bar cart.
Italian Mid-Century Modern seamless brass bar cart, serving cart, drinks cart or cocktail trolley. Thi...
Category
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Brass
1950s Bar Cart or Drinks Serving Trolley
Located in LA CIOTAT, FR
An elegant 1950s bar cart, or drinks serving trolley, in the iconic style of the renowned Parisian interior decorating firm Maison Jansen. This eye-catching cart, with its duo of polished wood tiers and openwork brass galleries, has a neo-classical feel to its design, and features a wood and brass push handle...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Brass
Mid Century Modern Serving Cart after Ico Parisi - Italy circa 1950s - Mahogany
By Ico Parisi
Located in Decatur, GA
Midcentury modern serving or bar cart by Ico Parisi in sculpted mahogany and glass with brass fittings - Italy circa 1950s. Imported by and sold through House of Rainbow NYC.
Excell...
Category
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Brass
H 32 in W 24 in D 22.5 in
Mod. 201 Italian Serving Bar Cart by Ico Parisi for De Baggis, 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Wonderful service bar trolley designed by the master of Italian design Ico Parisi together with his wife Luisa. The cart was produced by De Baggis in the 1950s in Italy.
The wood qu...
Category
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Metal, Brass
H 29.53 in W 30.52 in D 17.72 in
Rare Bamboo and Brass Bar Cart, Drink Trolley Maison Jansen, 1950s
Located in Antwerp, BE
Beautiful rare brass and bamboo wood Hollywood regency drinks trolley, bar cart with two glass shelves. Brass frame with bamboo handle, sides and decorative oversized wheels. In orig...
Category
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Brass
Unique White Cesare Lacca Tea Trolley or Bar Cart for Cassina, Italy 1950s
By Cesare Lacca, Cassina
Located in bergen op zoom, NL
Unique white lacquered tea trolley or bar cart by Cesare Lacca for Cassina
In my opinion the white lacquer is period correct from when it was ...
Category
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Glass, Walnut
H 27.96 in W 33.67 in D 17.52 in
Previously Available Items
Mid-Century Pastoe Teak Rolling Cart by Cees Braakman
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mid-Century 2 tiered teak rolling cart designed by Dutch post-war icon Cees Braakman for Pastoe. Beautiful and delicate teak trays with upturned edge...
Category
1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Teak
Rare Pastoe 2 Tiered Rolling Cart
By Pastoe
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Rare Two Tiered Pastoe Rolling Carts with Teak Frame, Molded Trays and Original Vintage Printed Vinyl Wrapped Trays. One cart is slightly darker than the other. Both are in original ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Teak
Cees Braakman for Pastoe Serving Trolley ‘Rolo PB31’ in Plywood
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Cees Braakman for Pastoe, serving trolley model ‘Rolo PB31’, laminated plywood, metal, the Netherlands, 1950
Dutch furniture designer Cees Braakman designed the ‘Rolo’ serving troll...
Category
1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Metal
Black Wood and Glass Trolley by Cees Braakman for Pastoe, Dutch Design, 1950s
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Trolley, bar cart or serving table by Cees Braakman for U.M.S Pastoe the Netherlands. Made and designed in the 1950s. It has a black painted wooden frame with glass tops on four swiveling wheels.
In original and good condition.
Cees Braakman was a Dutch furniture designer who worked for UMS Pastoe in the midcentury. He designed many beautiful pieces with the “U+N series”, better known as the “Japanese Series”, as his most famous. In the 1940s, Braakman was sent to the United States to observe design and production processes of furniture. Inspired by the works of Charles and Ray Eames, he started working with new materials like ply-wood and steel, which were used in many of his designs. Many items of his hand are now well known Dutch design classics, such as his DU03 sideboard, TU11 dining table...
Category
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Glass, Wood
H 22.45 in W 25.2 in D 17.72 in
Mobilo Serving Trolley Model PE03 by Cees Braakman for Pastoe
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Little Burstead, Essex
A very good original example of classic mid-1950s midcentury design form Dutch designer Cees Braakman.
Category
1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Plywood
Rare Trolley by Cees Braakman for Pastoe, Netherlands, circa 1950
By Cees Braakman, Pastoe
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Extreamly rare trolley designed by Cees Braakman, manufactured by Pastoe in the Netherlands, circa 1950.
This unique piece has a oak wooden Z-shaped base with white laminated tops...
Category
1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Materials
Laminate, Oak, Plywood
Mid-century Modern carts and bar carts for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Mid-Century Modern carts and bar carts for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage carts and bar carts created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include tables, case pieces and storage cabinets, serveware, ceramics, silver and glass and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, wood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Mid-Century Modern carts and bar carts made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and North America pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original carts and bar carts, popular names associated with this style include Cesare Lacca, Aldo Tura, Cassina, and Sergio Rodrigues. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for carts and bar carts differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $110 and tops out at $50,000 while the average work can sell for $1,948.
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Brass Glass And Wood Bar Cart
Cesare Lacca Bar Cart
Regency Brass Cart
Serving Table On Wheels
Mid Century Modern Tea Cart
Two Tiered Tray
Serving Cart Removable Tray
Vintage Wood Bar Cart
Easy Cart
Two Tier Trays
Wood Midcentury Tray Bar Table
Brass Bar Cart Regency
Brass Tray With Gallery
Smoked Glass Bar Cart
All Glass Bar Cart
Italian Regency Brass Bar
Danish Teak Trolley
4 Cart