Mobilia no. 211
February 1973
Nina Bratvold, Mette Bratvold, Klaus Meedom [Editors]
Nina Bratvold, Mette Bratvold, Klaus Meedom [Editors]: Mobilia no. 211. Snekkersten, Denmark: Mobilia, February 1973. Original edition. Text in Danish, English, German and French. Perfect bound and side stapled wrappers. Unpaginated. Multiple paper stocks. Fully illustrated articles in black and white and some color. Period furniture advertisements. Wrappers light worn but a very good or better copy.
10.25 x 10.18 magazine with elaborately designed editorial content 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]. “
- Design Forum: a modest temple of elevated taste and refinement in design, visited by Sven Hansen. 12 pages illustrated in black and white.
- Hasselblad: a sequence of development outlined by Per Mollup. 6 pages illustrated in black and white.
- Bofinger Production: the latent need as a starting point for product policy. An analysis by Torben Schmidt. 12 pages illustrated in black and white.
- Jean Tinguely: Careful! The machines will get you . . . and chop you into little pieces! A warning from Per Arnoldi. 12 pages illustrated in black and white.
- Paris 1973: New ideas snapped at the 7th International Furniture Fair in Paris. 8 pages illustrated in black and white.
- A Chance Encounter: Torben Schmidt and photographer Flemming Adelson drop by a bistro. 4 pages illustrated in black and white.
- Visit To P. I. Langlo: a furniture manufacture moving out of the era or ornate detail and twiddly bits into steel and leather. Visited by Klaus Meedom. 10 pages illustrated in black and white.
- Haimi Oy: a manufacturer with the courage to set new styles. Report by Martin Hartung. 7 pages illustrated in black and white.
- Om: 6 pages of current Industry News, fully illustrated in black and white.
Includes work by David Rowland, Jørgen Gammelgaard, Erik Jerichau, Hans Gugelot, Gerd Lange, Roger Lecal, Marc Berthier, Francesco Brusadelli, Riccardo Arbizzoni, Giofranco Frattini, Superstudio, Mario Ceroli, G. Cerini, Yrjö Kukkapuro, and others.
Includes advertising work by L. F. Fought, Holmegaard, E. Kindt-Larsen, Olof Person, Norell, Arne Norell, Stammschröer Gmbh, Unika Vaev, Gabriel, Robsahm Textiles, I/S Sejling Møbelindustri, Rhombos, Karl Wittmann, Colorlux A-S, Fritz Hansen, Arne Jacobsen, Verner Panton, Jørn Utzon, Børge Mogensen, Hans J. Wegner, Erik Jørgensen A-S Møbelfabrik, Gunnar Graversen, David Lewis and more.
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.”