Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
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.
1820s English Antique Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1970s Vintage Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century Peruvian Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Leather, Wood
20th Century Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
Late 20th Century American Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Early 2000s Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
20th Century Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1980s French Vintage Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine
1950s British Vintage Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century American Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
2010s North American Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Leather, Wood, Walnut
Early 19th Century English Antique Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
Early 20th Century British Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century French Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Rattan, Ceramic
20th Century British Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Late 20th Century American Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century British Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Yew
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood
1960s English Vintage Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Mahogany
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century British Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1970s English Vintage Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Leather, Hardwood
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Yew
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century British Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
19th Century Antique Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood
20th Century British Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hardwood
1980s British Vintage Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal
1880s English Antique Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century English Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1860s American Antique Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Hide, Glass, Wood
1970s English Vintage Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century American Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
1980s French Vintage Campaign Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Iron