This Jens Risom piece from Lookmodern is the kind of thing that would never be made today. Why have seat/table combinations disappeared? The angled magazine holder is a nice touch.

Speaking of Plycraft’s take on the Eames lounge, here’s one I’ve never seen before: a recliner with a built-in footrest. Many Plycraft lounges have the ability to do something an Eames 670/671 can’t do: tilt back. But this one extends a footrest as it reclines, doing the job of an ottoman in a fraction of the space. That’s right, a la Barcalounger. This is as close as you can get to a La-Z-Boy and still stay somewhat true to mid-century modernism. This naugahyde and walnut Plycraft was built in the ’60s. The seller makes the point that while you can still by an Eames lounge, the Plycraft knockoffs are no longer produced and this model is especially rare.

Plycraft is known for producing the most common mimicry of the famous Eames Lounge, but Über Modern has a less common version of Mulhauser’s lounge chair without tufting buttons and with a plywood base. As far as I know, it’s incorrectly labeled a “Mr. Chair” — that was the moniker for this Mulhauser model.

Dealer Janus Home describes this Norwegian piece as “one of the most comfortable lounge chairs ever produced” and I can’t see a reason to doubt that claim. It rocks, reclines and swivels, and can lock into recline by means of a lever. This is the ultimate chair for those like me who are disappointed with the inflexibility of the Eames Lounge.

Nelson’s Swag Leg gets all the attention but there is no easier, classier way to quickly hide a messy desk than a walnut rolltop.

You know I’m a fan of sofas wrapped in wood, and this anonymous rosewood beauty from the ’70s is worthy of a spot on the list. Newly upholstered with a back as beautiful as its front.

The hardware isn’t as hidden as I’d like, and information is notably absent on the listing, but this is one of the more original modern rockers I’ve seen. The reserve is not yet met but it should go for far less than something well known.

Meanwhile, this svelte Model 97 T/T manufactured by Tønder Møbelværk in 1957 is in another class. It’s attributed to a “Geroge Jensen”, but this is clearly a typo. It couldn’t be this Georg Jensen as he died in 1935 and designed only ceramics and silverware, not any furniture as far as I know. The correct name is probably Holger Georg Jensen, according to the Danish Design Dictionary.

Update: Orange and Brown has photos of another specimen.

If you want a relaxing addition to your mid-century room that isn’t your grandma’s rocking chair, these are rare gets.

Auction ending in 2 days: a rare “Rock’n-Rest”, highback lounge chair, designed in Norway and produced by the Gimson & Slater Ltd, United Kingdom. Adjustable rocking seat and back can be locked in 8 different positions by means of a handle.

Technical illustrator James Provost is offering his lovely poster of mid-century classics as a print at Imagekind. The first commenter to list the names and designers of all the pieces in the poster will win a 16″×24″ print, courtesy of the Mid-Century Modernist. (I won’t publish submitted lists until we have a winner, so answers won’t be given away.)

Illustration detail (and a few hints) below.

Update 6/12/09 — No further entries, please. We have a winner! An announcement will be made this week.

Update 6/12/09 — No further entries, please. We have a winner! An announcement will be made this week.

Victoria Smith (AKA SFGirlByBay, the keen-eyed blogger and photographer who reveals all her Bay Area home design secrets in today’s San Francisco Chronicle) noticed that “laundromats always have the coolest chairs”.

“three seater.”, recently submitted to our photo group by sfgirlbybay

While waiting for your wash, chances are good that you’re sitting in something colorful and tandem in the style of the Eames fiberglass and plastic side chairs. But they aren’t authentic originals, so where did these ubiquitous little charmers come from? Many were made by Krueger Metal Products, who was, by 1967, the world’s largest manufacturer of folding chairs and tables. The company is now the employee-owned (bless their hearts) KI and they’re still making something very similar in single stacking and tablet(!) varieties. Unfortunately, the closest thing in their tandem seating lines is this disappointment. Wake up, KI! Mid-century modern is in again!

Ok, back to the laundry: these chairs populate so many wash houses it’s almost as if there was a laundromat renovation fad in the ’60s and ’70s — each establishment updating their seating in an effort to keep up with the modern look of the competition. The chairs’ omnipresence today could be explained by their durability and the expense of replacing them with something more “current”. Fortunately for the business owners, there is no need to replace. These things are obviously adored by washingmachineless apartment dwellers everywhere.

San Francisco, by dubsyuhs

Rice Lake, Wisconsin, by MischievousRagDoll

35th Ave and Balboa St, San Francisco, by David Gallagher

Upper Grand Lagoon, Florida, by getthebubbles

Albany, New York, by Cari Ann Wayman

Chinatown, San Francisco, by David Gallagher

Park Slope, Brooklyn, by shooting brooklyn

by em hunt

Hyde and Pacific St, San Francisco, by Felicity O’Meara

Larkin and Pacific St, San Francisco, by Felicity O’Meara

Tybee Island, Georgia, by TW Collins

Atlanta by chaosatlanta

Damen Ave, Chicago, by chilene

Hyde and Clay St, San Francisco, by David Gallagher

California St, San Francisco, by me

Good friends know what you like. JLT thought I might enjoy this lounge chair by Adrian Pearsall. He was right. 31 1/2″ x 29 1/2″ x 29 1/2″. Starting bid is $100 and estimate is only $200–$400.

Also on auction are other items by Pearsall (obviously inspired by Vladimir Kagan), including a coffee table, a mustard sofa, and a rocking chaise clad like a wooly sheep.

Now here’s a surefire way to get your eBay auction posted on the Mid-Modist: appeal to my ego! Offer an item that we’ve covered on this blog, take some good photos, and link back to the related post here. That’s just what one seller did with this pair of Carter Bros. chairs.

They are in good shape and the cushions fit the frames right — rather than folding awkwardly in the bend as is often the case. There is still some inevitable scrunching going on and I must say I still prefer the rarer two-cushion version best, but this is one of the better examples of the Scoop Chair that I’ve seen on eBay since we first discussed them in January. The auction ends Dec. 29 and they are, unfortunately, only available for pickup in Chicago.

Meanwhile, Dana at DanishMod.com has a few premium Scoop chairs on offer for a premium price. Originally a dreary dark green vinyl, the folks at DanishMod reupholstered them in white leather which suits them quite nicely. More insight from Dana’s site:

• It seems there were at least 3 different frames produced, one with upturned corners (labelled #200), one with round corners, and the more common square cornered model.
• A contemporary knockoff called the Universal Chair can be distinguished from the original Scoops by its stitching between the buttons and edges.
• Scoop Chairs have starred on the big screen in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, as well as on TV’s “Gilmore Girls”.