The authentic Biedermeier furniture on 1stDibs is representative of the first modern European decorative style not dictated by the tastes of the aristocracy. Following the Napoleonic wars, a growing, wealthy urban middle class in the German-speaking states of Central Europe began to demand rights and privileges once granted only to nobles. To avoid trouble, the upwardly striving confined their political discussions to one another’s homes. And so the salon was born.
Cabinetmakers in cities such as Vienna, Berlin and Mainz began to offer goods that reflected the tastes and needs of the new class. The makers of Biedermeier chairs, tables and other furniture used little or no gilding, silver hardware or other lavish ornament. Ebonized trims are common on Biedermeier cabinetry, and neoclassical elements — lyre-shaped chair splats, carved scrollwork, table supports shaped like Greek columns. But the strongest aesthetic statement came from the wood — richly-grained, honey-colored, often book-matched veneers of walnut and fruitwood.
There are two iconic Biedermeier furniture forms, both made to outfit rooms designed for conversation. One is the sofa, deeply upholstered with a strong, architectural wooden frame. The second is the circular pedestal table, which stood at the center of the room, offering a surface on which to place coffee and cake services; or to roll out a map, or sketch out ideas on paper.
“Biedermeier” was originally a derogatory term — it derives from the pen names of two German magazine writers who mocked bourgeois manners. Looking at the elegant and refined antique, new and vintage Biedermeier furniture offered on 1stDibs, that is now an amusing irony.
Continental Austrian Military Battalion Prints
Located in Queens, NY
13 Continental Austrian (19th Cent) colored prints of various military battalions in grey & silver trimmed frames (Militar Album aller Lander Die Oesterreich. Ungarische Armee) (...
Zoological Original Lithograph Featuring "the gentle cat" from 1831-35
Located in Hamburg, DE
Transport yourself to the Biedermeier era with this exquisite and rare original lithograph from the book "Neue Bildergalerie der Jugend." Published between 1831 and 1835 by Carl Hell...
Paper
Zoological Original Lithograph Featuring a Monkey from 1831-35
Located in Hamburg, DE
Transport yourself to the Biedermeier era with this exquisite and rare original lithograph from the book "Neue Bildergalerie der Jugend." Published between 1831 and 1835 by Carl Hell...
Paper
$318Sale Price|28% Off
Colored, Framed Copper Engraving "Fuhrwerk II" Published by Winkelmann and Sons
Located in Hamburg, DE
Hand coloured, framed copper engraving "Fuhrwerk II" published by Winkelmann and Sons in Berlin in the mid-19th century. The print shows the vehicles of that time, four different ca...
Paper
Zoological Original Lithograph Featuring "the Lama" from 1831-35
Located in Hamburg, DE
Transport yourself to the Biedermeier era with this exquisite and rare original lithograph from the book "Neue Bildergalerie der Jugend." Published between 1831 and 1835 by Carl Hell...
Paper
$476Sale Price / set|20% Off
Set of 4 European Hand Colored Prints of Birds from 1830
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
A set of 4 hand colored birds prints, from 1830. By Comte, Achille Joseph (1802-1866), "Keepsake d´histoire naturelle. Description des oiseaux. Suivie d´un exposé de l art de les pr...
Paper
$2,800 / item
Swedish Biedermeier Landscape Prints
Located in Queens, NY
6 Swedish Biedermeier (19th Century) landscape prints in birch frames with black lacquer trim (PRICED EACH)
Birch
$476Sale Price / set|20% Off
Set of 4 European Hand Colored Prints of Birds from 1830
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
A set of 4 hand colored birds prints, from 1830. By Comte, Achille Joseph (1802-1866), "Keepsake d´histoire naturelle. Description des oiseaux. Suivie d´un exposé de l art de les pr...
Paper
Vintage Framed Dutch Man in Hat Costume Print
Located in Queens, NY
Vintage Dutch lithograph after Franz Hals of a man in a hat and ruffled collar in a beige mat and rectangular wooden frame.
19th Century Hand-Colored Copper Engraving of an Arab Warrior
By Adja Yunkers
Located in Hamburg, DE
This striking 19th-century hand-colored copper engraving depicts a detailed portrait of an Arab armed warrior, complete with a French subtitle specifying his exact designation. The c...
Wood, Paper
$476Sale Price / set|20% Off
Set of 4 European Hand Colored Prints of Birds from 1830
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
A set of 4 hand colored birds prints, from 1830. By Comte, Achille Joseph (1802-1866), "Keepsake d´histoire naturelle. Description des oiseaux. Suivie d´un exposé de l art de les pré...
Paper
19th Century Pair of Framed Italian Hand Colored Engravings
Located in San Francisco, CA
19th century pair of framed Italian hand colored engravings One engraving depicts a scene from Florence, Italy The other depicts a sc...
Paper
$205Sale Price|20% Off
H 6.7 in W 10.04 in D 0 in
Beautiful Decorative Hand-Colored Print of a Golden Pheasant from China, C.1840
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique print titled 'Le Faisan doré de la Chine'. Old print of the golden pheasant. Source unknown, to be determined. Artists and Engravers: Made by or after Georges-Louis Le Cl...
Paper
$6,500 / set
H 30.13 in W 26.13 in D 1.25 in
Pair of Framed Hand Colored Engravings of Tulips by Basilius Besler
Located in Essex, MA
Each with crisp vivid colors of the most desirable tulip series.
Paper
$262Sale Price|20% Off
H 9.85 in W 12.6 in D 0 in
Old Copper Engraving of the Siege of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy, Published, ca.1740
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique print titled 'Syracuse, Assiégée par les Atheniens'. Old print of the siege of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. Source unknown, to be determined. The siege of Syracuse by the...
Paper
John Gould Lithograph from 'The Birds of Europe'
By John Gould
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
John Gould (English, 1804-1881), 'Rufous Backed Egret, Ardea Rufsata', Cattle Erget, 1832-1837, hand colored lithograph from 'The Birds of Europe', fra...
Paper
Antique Print of a Military Costume by Bonnard, 1860
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique print titled ‘Costume Militaire, XIIIe Siecle.’ Original antique print of a military costume. This print originates from 'Costumes historiques de femmes du XIII, XIV et XV si...
Paper
$1,310
H 10.67 in W 8.94 in D 0.01 in
Antique Cycad Botanical Print, Copper Engraving, c.1831, Hand Colored
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique Cycad Botanical Scene, Cycas Circinalis, c.1831 Description: This striking botanical scene depicts Cycas circinalis in a tropical riverside landscape, with figures providing...
Paper
Set of 16 Large Original Antique Exotic Bird Prints, 1830s
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
Great set of bird prints Lithographs after the drawings by Cpt. brown. Original hand color. Unframed The measurement given below is for one print.
Paper
$877 / set
H 14.97 in W 10.24 in D 0.01 in
Set of 3 Vanity Fair Prints – Aristocracy Society Military 1883
Located in Langweer, NL
Title: Set of 3 Vanity Fair Prints – Aristocracy Society Military 1883 Description: A characterful and visually engaging set of three original Vanity Fair chromolithographs from 188...
Paper
$128
H 7.88 in W 10.44 in D 0.01 in
Victorian Cats on Display: Woodcut from the Albert Palace Cat Show, ca.1890
Located in Langweer, NL
This antique hand-colored woodcut engraving titled "The Cat Show at the Albert Palace" showcases an elegant group of prize-winning cats displayed at a 19th-century exhibition held at...
Paper
WW1 Military Print, Canadian, by Snaffles
By Charles "Snaffles" Johnson Payne
Located in Oxfordshire, GB
Vintage Snaffles WWI Military Print, The Canadian. A good Snaffles WWI military print 'The Canadian', the main center colour-piece hand coloured lithograph is mounted onto the printe...
Paper
$690
H 16.54 in W 13.43 in D 0.01 in
Antique Gibbons & Monkeys Lithograph by Karl Joseph Brodtmann, 1816
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique Gibbons & Monkeys Lithograph by Karl Joseph Brodtmann, 1816 This striking early 19th-century hand-colored lithograph by the celebrated Swiss natural history artist Karl Jose...
Paper
Four 19th Century Hand-Colored Copper Engravings of Uniformed Men
Located in Hamburg, DE
This charming set consists of four hand-colored copper engravings from the 19th century, each depicting a uniformed man in striking detail. Represented are a Dragoon, a Grenadier, a ...
Wood, Paper
Sold
H 8.27 in W 10.63 in D 0.4 in
Zoological Original Lithograph Featuring "the Leopard" from 1831-35
Located in Hamburg, DE
Transport yourself to the Biedermeier era with this exquisite and rare original lithograph from the book "Neue Bildergalerie der Jugend." Published between 1831 and 1835 by Carl Hell...
Paper
Set of 4 European Hand Colored Prints of Birds from 1830
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
A set of 4 hand colored birds prints, from 1830. By Comte, Achille Joseph (1802-1866), "Keepsake d´histoire naturelle. Description des oiseaux. Suivie d´un exposé de l art de les pr...
Paper
Set Of 4 European Hand Colored Prints Of Birds From 1830
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
A set of 4 hand colored birds prints, from 1830. By Comte, Achille Joseph (1802-1866), "Keepsake d´histoire naturelle. Description des oiseaux. Suivie d´un exposé de l art de les pré...
Paper
Sold
H 22.75 in W 18.75 in D 1 in
Set of Eight Prussian Hand Colored Framed Military Lithographs, Circa 1820
Located in Charleston, SC
Set of eight Prussian hand colored framed military lithographs. Early 19th Century