Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10

Walnut and Brass Serving Trolley Model 756 by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn 1940s

About the Item

Serving trolley model 756 designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Sweden, 1940s. Veneered walnut and brass. H: 65 cm W: 53 cm Width when fully extended: 89 cm D: 80 cm Josef Frank was a true European, he was also a pioneer of what would become classic 20th century Swedish design and the “Scandinavian Design Style”. Austrian- born Frank started his design career as an architect after having trained at the Technische Hochschule in Vienna between 1903 and 1910. After his training he went on to teach at Kunstgewerbeschule (The Viennese School of Arts and crafts) where he developed and espoused the new school of modernist thinking towards Architecture and Design that was coming to fruition in Vienna at the time. He also went on to lead the Vienna Werkbund throughout the 1920s. This was a truly progressive group of Architects and Designers who set about improving the daily lives of Austrian people through modernist design and architecture in partnership with Arts and Crafts ideals and construction. Frank’s leadership of the Werkbund had already cemented his place at the forefront of European design. Frank’s time in Vienna was typified by his design for the “Die Wohnung” exhibition of the Deutscher Werkbund in Stuttgart, 1927 where he exhibited along side his contemporaries at the forefront of design, such as the likes of Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. Here he showed a specially designed pair of flat-roofed reinforced concrete houses in what is now seen as a typical modernist style. What separated Frank’s house from the other 32 houses of the exhibition was the interior and furniture inside the building. It was described as “Neo-Classical” and filled with an eclectic mix of period pieces, modern design and pieces designed by Frank himself that seemed to cross the two worlds. This was a complete opposite direction to that which his fellow Architects were travelling in with their pared back and angular aesthetics. Frank said of his own work: “The house is not a work of art, simply a place where one lives,” and by this reasoning Frank rejected the regimental mechanisation of the living space that his contemporaries believed in, instead he set about creating congenial and spontaneous interiors. Frank’s practice saw him placing the bright colours and the soft forms of nature back into the furnishings and interiors that he thought modernism sorely mist. Frank, along with Oskar Walch set up Haus und Garten in Vienna in 1925. This was Frank’s first commercial foray into furniture and home furnishings and the company went on to become the most influential furnishing house in Vienna with a riotous depth of colour and interesting shapes becoming the trademark of their design. However this success was to come to an end with rise of Nazism in Vienna in the early 1930’s. Frank was Jewish, and he and his wife Anna decided they would leave Vienna for her motherland: Sweden, in 1933. Frank continued to design for Haus and Garten, visiting Vienna occasionally and designing the pieces that would continue to be the company’s best sellers long after Frank was forced to hand the company over in 1938 after the Third Reich annexation of Austria. When Josef and Anna had moved to Sweden Frank had struck up a working relationship with Design shop owner Estrid Ericson. Ericson was the proprietor of Svenskt Tenn that at this point was a successful interiors shop in Stockholm with the royal warrant of appointment to the Swedish Royal Household. In 1935 Frank had become the chief designer for Svenskt Tenn and had set about putting all of his creative effort into his designs for the company. At the World Expositions in Paris in 1937 and New York in 1939 the world saw for the first time the wealth of products that Frank had been working on, ranging from candlesticks to cabinets, there was not a domestic object that Frank had not subjected to his colourful, comfortable and organic style of Modernism. Frank’s new school of Modernism championed ideas such as chairs having a freeing, open back and that “If one desires the room to be comfortable…all pieces of furniture should allow for a free view of the separating line between the floor and the wall. A cabinet without legs breaks this line and thus reduces the feeling of space.” A world-wide audience tired of classic Modernism’s furniture with solid planes and aggressive forms leapt upon these ideas and Franks natural and bright designs for Svenskt Tenn became internationally desired. Frank created over 2000 designs for Svenskt Tenn and his products continue to be the core of their brand. Frank’s rejections of tubular metal and heavy lacquers within his furniture have insured his unique light form of Modernism continues to influence and flourish today. His natural toned mahogany and walnut pieces along with his tactile leather covered and brightly shaded lighting still bring the forms of nature back into the home. Original Frank pieces are now increasingly rare, highly desirable and are the epitome of “Scandinavian Design”. Renowned Designer and Academic Isle Crawford says of Frank: “His thinking on design was insightful, human-centred and extremely relevant for our times”. Indeed in the contemporary design world his fabric designs, lamps and furniture are held up by designers as inspiration and continue to be admired for their natural simplicity.
  • Creator:
    Josef Frank (Designer)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 25.6 in (65 cm)Width: 35.04 in (89 cm)Depth: 31.5 in (80 cm)
  • Style:
    Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1940s
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    Stockholm, SE
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1006631541282

More From This Seller

View All
Serving trolley model 2248 Designed by Josef Frank Sweden, 1940s
By Josef Frank
Located in Stockholm, SE
Serving trolley model 2248, designed by Josef Frank, Sweden, 1940s H: 75.5 cm / 2' 5 3/4" W: 50 cm / 1' 7 11/16" D: 83.5 cm / 2' 8 7/8"
Category

Vintage 1940s Swedish Serving Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Serving trolley model 2777 designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Sweden 1950
By Josef Frank
Located in Stockholm, SE
Serving trolley model 2777 designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Sweden, 1950s. Mahogany with a black arborite top. Brass handles. H: 105 cm / 41 3/8" L: 81 cm / 31 7/8" D: 50...
Category

Vintage 1950s European Sideboards

Materials

Brass

Dining Table Model 1197 Designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Sweden, 1940s
By Josef Frank
Located in Stockholm, SE
Dining table model 1197 designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Sweden, 1940s. Mahogany. This simple yet elegant dining table is an excellent example of how Josef Frank combined...
Category

Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Mahogany

Occasional Table Model 2168 Designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn
By Josef Frank
Located in Stockholm, SE
Occasional table model 2168 designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Sweden. 1950s. Walnut and marble. Josef Frank’s occasional table “model 2168” is one of his rarer models. Its beautifully carved, turned legs...
Category

Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Tables

Materials

Marble

Bedside Table Model ‘914’ Designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Sweden
By Josef Frank
Located in Stockholm, SE
Bedside table model 914 designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Sweden, 1950s. Mahogany veneer and brass handle. Josef Frank’s elegant bedside table model 914 with sophisticated ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Side Tables

Materials

Brass

Sideboard Model 1148 Designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Sweden, 1950s
By Josef Frank
Located in Stockholm, SE
Sideboard model 1148 designed by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Sweden, 1950s. Walnut and alder root veneer. This sideboard model 1148 with two clever extension flaps was designed b...
Category

Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Sideboards

Materials

Walnut

You May Also Like

Svenskt Tenn Serving Trolley in White Lacquered Metal by Josef Frank, 1950s
By Josef Frank, Svenskt Tenn
Located in Aachen, NRW
Svenskt Tenn, bar cart or serving trolley, brass, lacquered metal, Sweden, 1950s This sophisticated bar cart, crafted by the renowned Swedish manufacturer Svenskt Tenn in the 1950s,...
Category

Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts

Materials

Metal, Brass

Mid Century Modern Vintage Brass Bar Cart Svenskt Tenn Josef Frank c. 1960
By Svenskt Tenn
Located in Vienna, AT
Mid century Modern vintage bar cart or serving trolley by Josef frank for Svenskt Tenn circa 1960 from brass and perforated brass. An amazing bar cart with two perforated metal tiers...
Category

Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts

Materials

Brass

Midcentury Serving Cart by Josef Frank, Svenskt Tenn, Sweden, 1950s
By Josef Frank, Svenskt Tenn
Located in Stockholm, SE
Elegant serving cart by Josef Frank, made from mahogany in a versatile design. Drop leaves, a drawer that slides both ways and a removable tray under the table top. Width 89 cm with...
Category

Vintage 1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Carts and Bar Carts

Materials

Mahogany

Josef Frank Folding Bar Cart or Side Table by Svensk Tenn
By Josef Frank
Located in Munich, DE
Light and easy to store foldable table with a nice print by Josef Frank.
Category

Vintage 1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Carts and Bar Carts

Materials

Formica

Scandinavian Modern Brass Acrylic Bar Cart Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn Sweden
By Josef Frank, Svenskt Tenn
Located in Miami, FL
Chic 1950s Scandinavian modern brass bar cart designed by Josef Frank and manufactured for Svenskt Tenn in Sweden. Made out of tubular and perforated brass. Wire mesh brass tray on t...
Category

Vintage 1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Carts and Bar Carts

Materials

Brass

Bar cart by Josef Frank, Svenskt tenn, Sweden, 1950s
By Josef Frank, Svenskt Tenn
Located in Eskilstuna, SE
Classic bar cart produced by Svenskt tenn and designed by Josef Frank in the 1950s. Made in brass, glass and wooden handles. Removable tray with handles. This model is a rare one w...
Category

Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Carts and Bar Carts

Materials

Brass

Recently Viewed

View All