Gilbert Rohde Mahogany Vanity and Mirror for Cavalier, circa 1931
View Similar Items
Gilbert Rohde Mahogany Vanity and Mirror for Cavalier, circa 1931
About the Item
- Creator:Gilbert Rohde (Designer),Cavalier (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30.5 in (77.47 cm)Width: 44 in (111.76 cm)Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Art Deco (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1931
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. glass water mark on top {see image #9}.
- Seller Location:Camden, ME
- Reference Number:Seller: App 5291stDibs: LU89846048863
Gilbert Rohde
Pioneering self-taught industrial designer, writer and teacher Gilbert Rohde helped define the earliest phase of modernism in the United States. He is one of the most influential figures of 20th-century design and is credited with helping legendary mid-century modern furniture manufacturer Herman Miller avert financial disaster during the Great Depression.
Born in New York City, Rohde studied painting at the Art Students League after high school. He found lucrative employment, first as a political cartoonist and then as a catalog illustrator for American department stores. He was particularly enthralled with drawing furnished interiors.
Rohde began to design furniture in his spare time. He traveled to the Bauhaus school in Germany and the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, and drew on the Art Deco movement and the work of designers such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann in his early pieces. Rohde opened his own studio in 1929 and secured private and commercial commissions. His clients would come to include formidable furniture makers Heywood-Wakefield and Troy Sunshade, and his innovative bentwood furnishings for them were practical and intended for the modern consumer.
In 1930, Rohde met Herman Miller founder D.J. De Pree in the company’s Michigan showroom during a business trip. By then, Rohde had a long list of prominent clients and his furniture had been exhibited in museums and galleries. Herman Miller was weathering a devastating slowdown in business, and the American furniture industry had generally been hit hard by the Great Depression.
Rohde boldly informed De Pree that the brand’s furniture had become outdated, which was part of the reason the company was in financial jeopardy. Homes had become smaller and could no longer accommodate the large Gothic– and Victorian–style furnishings and traditional reproductions of period bedroom suites that Herman Miller was offering at the time, Rohde explained.
Rohde secured a contract to design for the Michigan manufacturer. He championed the use of exotic woods and tubular steel, and created streamlined, unadorned bedroom furniture for Herman Miller — collections that included convenient vanities, which were unconventional pieces for De Pree’s company back then.
In 1933, Rohde oversaw the design of two bedrooms featuring sleek Herman Miller furniture — including innovative storage pieces he designed — as part of an International–style exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The installation garnered acclaim for De Pree’s brand all over the world and afforded Rohde the opportunity to execute on his visionary ideas in front of a global audience. Rohde later designed lighting, seating and more for Herman Miller and was extensively involved in the company's marketing strategy and other areas of the business.
In 1942, Herman Miller, anticipating a postwar economic boom, began to produce office furniture for the first time, but its legacy is in the home. Working with legendary designers such as Ray and Charles Eames, Isamu Noguchi and Alexander Girard, the manufacturer fostered some of the boldest expressions of what we now call mid-century modern style.
Find vintage Gilbert Rohde coffee tables, lounge chairs, table lamps and other items on 1stDibs.
- Gilbert Rohde Art Deco Rolling Chrome Bar Cart for Troy Sunshade, circa 1933By Troy Sunshade Company, Gilbert RohdeLocated in Camden, MERolling chrome bar cart designed by Gilbert Rohde for Troy Sunshade, circa 1933. An example can be found in Steve Kenyon's archive of Gilbert Rohde's ow...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsStainless Steel, Nickel
- American Martinsville Walnut Mirror, circa 1955By American of Martinsville, Merton GershunLocated in Camden, MESimple elegant mirror designed by Merton Gershun for his Dania line for American of Martinsville. Rosewood colored walnut. The use of...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror, Walnut
- NeoClassical 1960s Draped Carved Wood Mirror by ChapmanBy Chapman Manufacturing CompanyLocated in Camden, MEAn elegant hand-carved wooden mirror from Chapman. Asymmetrically carved drapery surrounds the oval mirror. Skillfully executed in Spain by a talented craftsman in the 1960s. In e...Category
Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsPine
- Enrique Garcel Greek Key Mirror Tessellated Bone 1970s Studio Crafted ColumbiaBy Enrique GarcelLocated in Camden, MEA beautiful tessellated bone mirror by the Spanish artist, Enrique Garcel. The video is closest in color to the actual color of the mirror. The mirror is in good condition with no ...Category
Vintage 1970s Colombian Hollywood Regency Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBone
- Edmond Spence Mahogany Dining Table Designed for Industria Mueblera, circa 1958By Edmond J. Spence, Industria Mueblera MexicoLocated in Camden, MEAn extraordinary extendable mahogany dining table by Edmund Spence manufactured by Industria Mueblera in Mexico in the 1950s. The cast metalwork is gold leafed. The table has Edmund...Category
Vintage 1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsGold Leaf
- Warren McArthur Vanity Stool Style No. 1131, circa 1936By Warren McArthur, Warren McArthur CorporationLocated in Camden, MEWarren McArthur aluminum vanity stool from the mid- 1930s. The stool is worn and has a separation crack on the inside edge of one of the floor tube. Early McArthur is made from weld...Category
Vintage 1930s American Bauhaus Stools
MaterialsAluminum
- Gilbert Rohde 4140 Vanity for Herman MillerBy Gilbert Rohde, Herman MillerLocated in Hanover, MABeautifully refinished mahogany vanity/coiffeuse by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller with original off-white "leather cloth" (Fabrikoid) top and padded drawers. Kneehole: 26" high x 22" wide x 17.5" deep See our separate listings for other pieces from this same collection. See pages from original 1941 Herman Miller catalog.Category
Vintage 1940s American Art Deco Vanities
MaterialsFaux Leather, Mahogany
- Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller Rosewood VanityBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in New York, NYStunning 1940s Gilbert Rohde designed for Herman Miller Model number 3770 vanity, made of Brazilian rosewood with 3 drawers 3 small storage compartments and glass shelf.Category
20th Century American Art Deco Vanities
MaterialsBrass
- Vanity by Gilbert Rohde for Herman MillerBy Herman Miller, Gilbert RohdeLocated in Palm Springs, CAA sculptural vanity by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller. Floating top with leatherette covered 'wings'. Angled base cabinets contain three drawers with original padded leatherette cov...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vanities
MaterialsFaux Leather, Mahogany
- Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller Art Deco Vanity or Desk, 1930sBy Herman Miller, Gilbert RohdeLocated in South Bend, INAn exceptional Art Deco or Mid-Century Modern vanity or desk By Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller USA, 1930s Mahogany, with black leatherette drawer fronts and black lacquered...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Vanities
MaterialsFaux Leather, Mahogany, Lacquer
- Gilbert Rohde Art Deco Vanity Table and Stool by Herman MillerBy Gilbert Rohde, Herman MillerLocated in Miami, FLSculptural Art Deco vanity table and stool from the 4140 collection designed by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller, dating from the late 1930s to the early 1940s. The mid-century desk f...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Art Deco Vanities
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany, Glass
- Art Deco Art Moderne Streamline Gilbert Rohde Herman Miller Vanity c 1930'sBy Gilbert Rohde, Herman MillerLocated in New York, NYIconic Art Deco, Art Moderne vanity designed by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller, circa 1936. The vanity features a bank of three drawers, which supports a floating glass top surface,...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Vanities
MaterialsGlass, Birdseye Maple, Walnut