DANSK MØBELDESIGN:
PRÆSENTATION AF KUNSTMUSEET TRAPHOLTS MØBELSAMLING
Sven Jørn Andersen [foreword] and Hanne Kjærholm [udstillingsarkitekt]
Sven Jørn Andersen [foreword] and Hanne Kjærholm [udstillingsarkitekt]: DANSK MØBELDESIGN: PRÆSENTATION AF KUNSTMUSEET TRAPHOLTS MØBELSAMLING. Æblehaven: Kunstmuseet Trapholt, 1993. First edition. Text in Danish. Square quarto. Thick printed wrappers. 68 pp. 37 color plates. 8 black and white illustrations. Minor shelf wear including rubbing on the back cover. Interior unmarked and very clean. Out-of-print. A nearly fine copy. Uncommon.
7.75 x 7.75 soft cover book with 68 pages and 37 color illustrations and 8 black-and-white illustrations. Published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name: Udstillingen er åben fra den 10. Juni – 29. August 1993. Alle dage kl. 10-17. Also includes an essay “Moderne klassikere” by Arne Karlsen and a catalog of the exhibit.
Includes work by Kaare Klint, Børge Mogensen, Hans Wegner, Poul Kjærholm, Finn Juhl, Ole Wanscher, Mogens Koch, Grete Jalk, Arne Jacobsen, Gunnar Aagaard Andersen, Erik Krogh, Bernt Petersen, Niels Jørgen Haugesen and Hans Amos Christensen.
In 1954 the four Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland arranged what proved to be the most important marketing effort ever for Scandinavian design—the monumental exhibition Design in Scandinavia. From 1954 to 1957 Design in Scandinavia toured the United States and Canada. The exhibition was presented in 27 cities, and it was a huge success, initiated by The Danish Society of Arts and Crafts and its sister organizations in the other participating countries.
Based on the success the four countries established what they called the Scandinavian Design Cavalcade, which had a lot of US press coverage as well. In that connection the July 1959 issue of House Beautiful was centered around The Scandinavian Look in U.S. Homes, and it was Denmark and Danish Design in particular that the magazine focussed on. Besides the editorial pages, the numerous ads illustrates that Danish modern furniture was increasingly gaining a stronghold among certain groups of American consumers.
Importers and retail chains like John Stuart Inc., George Tanier, Raynor and Dunbar etc. now sold Danish modern furniture in the US, and by now it was not only hand crafted furniture from the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibitions but also pieces from industrial furniture producers like Fritz Hansen, Søborg Møbelfabrik, Fredericia Furniture and many others. From the end of the 1950s Danish Department stores and other retailers produced comprehensive brochures and booklets in English with prices in US Dollars presenting Danish Design to American and other tourists.
Without exception, these stores all presented the narrative of Danish modern. “Denmark is known all over the world for its exquisite home furnishing, which are characterized by their outstanding design and superb craftsmanship” the department store Magasin claimed in its brochure “Danish Design.”