Monday, March 28, 2011

Selig / Larsen Discovery. Spotted This Vintage Modern Chair "Hidden" in a Craigslist Ad Last Week. Status: Needs A Lil' Freshenin' Up.

DSCN1712

Not a bad C-list find, right? It was just described as a vintage chair and was included in an ad with three other items. I had seen one before on someone else's Flickr page, but I didn't know what it was. After doing a little research and due diligence, I realized it was designed by Ib Kofod Larsen and made by Selig (Blatant Mis-attribution! - Turns out it's actually a Viscount Chair by Dan Johnson!)

...and may be worth a bit more than I have invested! I might be keeping it though. Having a pair

of Selig / Larsen chairs (the Selig "Z" chair is also attributed to Ib Kofod Larsen) is pretty cool!

Then again, it's not like it matches the style of the "Z" chair in any way. Maybe I'll place it in the

spare bedroom with the new sectional sofa
after either re-upholstering or cleaning the existing

upholstery.

DSCN1707DSCN1708

The wood and metal needs some attention too. Luckily there aren't any REAL dings or dents in

the wood. It's almost purely in the finish. Shouldn't be too difficult to clean that up. There are

however some "nicks" in the arms and the, I'm guessing here, lacquer finish of the brass leg

top caps is shot.

DSCN1717DSCN1716

I love the upholstery that is on it but it's pretty stained. I might try to remove it, clean it and

replace it. If that doesn't work I'll have to find some appropriate fabric to replace it. Sad thing is,

about two months ago I spotted a bolt of fabric much like this at the Forest Park Parkway

Goodwill but didn't buy it. Doh. What was I thinking?

DSCN1711DSCN1712

DSCN1714DSCN1715

The chair looks like it'll be easy to disassemble for refinishing. Just a few screws hold the seat

and back on. I'm not entirely sure how to remove the brass caps or the aluminum arms yet.

Hmmmm, anybody ever mess with anything like that?

DSCN1713

Does anybody have a "name" for this chair? Seems like a lot of these iconic designs have a

name like Hans Wegner's "The" chair. I've found a few websites here and there (A - B - C -

D) with some info but not a name!

4 comments:

  1. Great little chair! I've never seen it with aluminum arms, only brass. The only name I've ever seen anyone put to it was the Brass Chair.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice find, I have a pair of those Selig Z chairs I won't part with. It looks like those brass parts should slide up, or else the aluminum arms should just pull up out of the brass once you unscrew the aluminum arms from the wooden mounts in back.

    ReplyDelete
  3. They had one much like this one at the Warson Woods Antique Gallery that I checked out today. There really isn't much MCM stuff in there, save one booth. The one I saw today had black leather, though. I personally like the white better, though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My mother owns a pair of these. Hers are black wood with white leather upholstery and brass. She bought them new in 1956.

    ReplyDelete