FRITZ HANSEN-MØBLER / FRITZ HANSEN FURNITURE
Arne Jacobsen et al.
[Fritz Hansen]: FRITZ HANSEN-MØBLER / FRITZ HANSEN FURNITURE. København / New York: Fritz Hansen EFT. A/S / Inc., 1963. Original edition. Text in Danish, English, German, and French. Octavo. Green paper covered boards screen printed in white with laminated white backstrip titled in green. 108 pp. Furniture specifications and black and white photographs. Six-panel price list dated May 1964 laid in. Spine crown and tips gently bruised, but a nearly fine copy.
8.25 x 11.75 hardcover furniture catalog with 108 pages fully illustrating Fritz Hansen designs in black and white. Furniture pieces shown in silhouette and photographed in residential, industrial, educational, and professional interiors. Book design by Bård Henricksen. Includes a statement by the Danish Furnituremakers’ Control Association. All furniture designs are identified by name, dimensions, materials, and specifications. I suspect this information could be useful to some people out there.
Co-operating designers include Karen & Ebbe Clemmensen, Erik Herløw & Tormund Olesen, Jan Inge Hovig, Peter Hvidt & O. Mølgaard-Nielsen, Arne Jacobsen, Holger Jensen, Kaare Klint, Kai Kristiansen, Ejnar Larsen & A. Bender Madsen, Mogens Lassen, Børge Mogensen, Verner Panton, Aage Schmidt Christensen, Kristian Vedel, And Hans J. Wegner.
The Danish furniture design company Fritz Hansen, aka Republic of Fritz Hansen, was founded in 1872. The Danish carpenter FRitz hansen introduced his first chair in steam bent wood in 1915. Arne Jacobsen first collaborated with Fritz Hansen in 1934 and proceeded to design many classic Danish Design icons, including the 'Ant' (1952), the 'Series 7' (1955), the 'Grand Prix' (1957) the 'Swan' (1958), and the 'Egg' (1958).
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 1963 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 1963 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.”