Mobilia no. 294
1980
Per Mollerup [Editor]
Per Mollerup [Editor]: Mobilia no. 294. Snekkersten, Denmark: Mobilia, 1980. Original edition. Text in English and Danish. Perfect bound and side stapled wrappers. Unpaginated. Multiple paper stocks. Fully illustrated articles in black and white and some color. Period furniture advertisements. Cover by Peter Bysted. Wrappers light worn but a very good or better copy.
10.25 x 10.18 magazine with fully illustrated articles and period furniture advertisements. The editors described their magazine thus: “Mobilia is an international subscription periodical for furniture, art, handicraft, etc. Mobilia is published in two issues, one of them in Danish and English, and the other one in Swedish and German, the text having been translated as a whole. Mobilia is issued to all members of Møbelfabrikantforeningen i Danmark [The Association of Danish Furniture manufacturers], of Møbelhandlernes Centralforening i Danmark [The Association of Furniture Dealers in Denmark], and of Indendørs Arkitekt Foreningen [The Association of Interior Architects]; in Sweden a collective subscription has been taken by Sveriges Möbelindustriförbund [The Association of Swedish Furniture Manufacturers]. “
- The Writing on the Wall
- Graffiti by Per Mollerup
- The Poster that Came in from the Cold by Peder Bundgaard
- Posters 1918 by Poul Henningsen
- Slam, Bang, Pow! Posters by Peter Bysted
- Don't Mix Art and Politics? By Mikael Witte
- Collecting Posters by Paul Lipschutz: includes work by A. Rottmark, E. Schwab, Y. Berg, R. Engströmer, E. Nerman, I. Brunander and T. Schonberg
- Newsfront: includes a short obituary for Harbo Sølvsten and work by Bruno Ninabarvan Eyben among others
- Aspen 1: Form and Purpose by Moshe Safdie
- Debate: The Rosenthal Syndrome—open letter from Mobilia editor Per Mollerup to Mobilia editor Svend Erik Møllerup
- What's On
- Knifeless man/Lifeless man by Henrik Vensild, Curator
- Iceland observed by Svend Erik Møller
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, Raymor 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.”