Paul McCobb Console Table for Calvin Furniture, Model 9315
About the Item
- Creator:Paul McCobb (Designer)
- Design:Symmetric Group SofaSymmetric Group
- Dimensions:Height: 29.25 in (74.3 cm)Width: 60 in (152.4 cm)Depth: 19 in (48.26 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950's
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU812537884522
Symmetric Group Sofa
The 1962 Symmetric Group sofa borrows from the simplicity of New England furniture traditions and infuses this heritage with a playful modernism. Boston-born designer Paul McCobb (1917–69) was inspired by the solid craftsmanship of Shaker and Windsor furniture as well as the needs of mid-century living. Designed for Widdicomb Furniture Company, the high-backed Symmetric Group sofa could add a note of elegance to a middle-class home, balancing its bulky body of swooping arms and ribbed details with the slender, wooden legs.
After studying at Boston’s Vesper George School of Art and serving in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II, McCobb relocated to New York City and worked as a consultant with Modernage Furniture. He also opened his own firm, Paul McCobb Associates. His first line to go into mass production was the 1950 Planner Group, codeveloped with B.G. Mesberg, who he met at Modernage. Each piece was designed to be affordable and fit the compact floor plans of postwar subdivisions. McCobb was interested in creating “living walls,” with cabinets and desks that folded out so that furniture could be active space. The Symmetric Group furniture, which included a lounge chair, was similarly economic with its domestic footprint while simultaneously making a statement through unexpected forms.
Production of the Symmetric sofa ended following McCobb’s death in 1969, making it rare for collectors. In 2019, it was one of five editions of McCobb’s Symmetric Group to be reimagined by designer Ralph Pucci. While updates were made for modern tastes, such as velvet upholstery and fuller cushions, the enduring popularity of the designs proves they are timeless.
Paul McCobb
You could call Paul McCobb a man of parts. As a furniture designer, his work combined the attributes of many of his now better-known peers. Like Bauhaus designers such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, McCobb's furniture had purity of form and line. Like the designs of Florence Knoll and George Nelson and his associates, McCobb’s work was efficient and purposeful. And even like George Nakashima, he was adept at interpreting traditional forms, in particular those of chairs, for the 20th century.
More than any other designer beside Russel Wright, with his ubiquitous ceramic tableware, McCobb was arguably responsible for the introduction of modern design into middle-class American households — if for no other reason than that he designed the 1952 set for the original Today show. McCobb also designed cohesive lines of furnishings, such as his best-known Planner Group, that gave homes an instant “look.” McCobb designed for several companies, most notably Directional, the New York firm that also produced designs by other legends, such as Paul Evans and Vladimir Kagan.
The signal aesthetic attribute of McCobb designs is that he completely forsook ornament — his pieces have no flourishes. And yet, because they are honest — the chairs, desks and tables are made of solid wood, usually maple or birch, often paired with frames and legs of wrought iron; the cabinets are traditionally scaled; the seating pieces have historic antecedents such as the Windsor chair — McCobb’s mid-century modern work has warmth and presence.
As you can see from the offerings on 1stDibs, vintage Paul McCobb designs are the pin-striped suit, or the little black dress, of a décor: an essential.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: San Francisco, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Paul McCobb Connoisseur Collection Console TableBy Paul McCobbLocated in San Francisco, CAPaul McCobb console table designed for his Connoisseur collection for H.Sack & Son Brookline, MA. Completely restored and ready to to install, newly refinished mahogany and polished ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Paul McCobb Travertine Top Dresser Irwin Collection for CalvinBy Paul McCobbLocated in San Francisco, CAPaul McCobb design twelve drawer dresser for his Irwin collection by Calvin. Made with a bleached mahogany case and trifold accordion doors atop a brass plated six leg base and a tra...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsTravertine, Brass
- Paul McCobb Chest of Drawers Irwin Collection for CalvinBy Paul McCobbLocated in San Francisco, CAPaul McCobb design chest of drawers for his Irwin Collection by Calvin. Classic American Mid-Century modern design and very functional for everyday use. Made from bleached mahogany...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsTravertine, Brass
- Paul McCobb Cigarette Side Table for DirectionalBy Paul McCobbLocated in San Francisco, CAPaul McCobb design "Cigarette" side table for Directional, Model 1094. Sophisticated looking tripod brass frame with a vitrolite top, perfect for drinks etc. Iconic Mid-Century moder...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Paul McCobb Planner Group Side Tables for WinchendonBy Paul McCobbLocated in San Francisco, CAPair of Paul McCobb design Planner Group side tables for Winchendon Furniture. Original matched pair in solid maple with brass cone shape pulls, labeled and in very good original con...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsMaple
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Console Table for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in San Francisco, CAT.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings design console table for Widdicomb Furniture U.S.A. Beautiful contoured bull nose edges throughout on telescoping solid brass legs. Rare form table from his li...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Low Console Table Designed by Paul McCobb for CalvinBy Paul McCobbLocated in Stamford, CTA square brass armature console table with travertine marble top designed by Paul McCobb.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Paul McCobb for Calvin Console Table with White Vitrolite Top and Brass FrameBy Paul McCobb, Calvin FurnitureLocated in St. Louis, MOMid-Century Modern console table or server designed by Paul McCobb for Calvin Furniture, part of his Irwin collection. Console has two drawers and two lower shelves in mahogany that ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Paul McCobb Planner Group Console Table for Winchendon, USA, 1950sBy Paul McCobb, WinchendonLocated in Berlin, DEPaul McCobb console table in metal with maple top.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Paul McCobb Travertine Consoles and or Sofa TablesBy Paul McCobb, DirectionalLocated in Chicago, ILPaul McCobb Travertine Consoles and or Sofa Tables, model 8704 for Directional. Square tubular brass with 3/4" travertine.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsTravertine, Brass
- Paul McCobb Sideboard Dresser Console 1960sBy Paul McCobbLocated in Munich, DEServing table or console table designed by Paul McCobb for Calvin. Fold-out table top, which doubles the table’s storage area. Rectangle shape in a beautiful oak case and a with four...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- Paul McCobb Wall-Mounted Floating ConsoleBy Paul McCobbLocated in Culver City, CAIntroducing an extraordinary mid-century wall-mounted floating three-tier console, a sought-after piece designed by the esteemed Paul McCobb for Bryce Originals in the 1950s. With it...Category
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
MaterialsSteel, Cut Steel