Mobilia no. 249
April 1976
Per Mollerup [Editor]
Per Mollerup [Editor]: Mobilia no. 249. Snekkersten, Denmark: Mobilia, April 1976. 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. Cover features a killer Arne Jacobsen and Dieter Rams combo.
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]. “
- Köln International Furniture Fair 1976: Grete Jalk. 21 pages fully illustrated in black and white.
- Stockholm Möbelsyn 76: Per Mollerup. 3 pages fully illustrated in black and white.
- Ward Bennett: J. Roger Guilfoyle. 7 pages fully illustrated in black and white.
- Hans J. Wegner: Frederik Sieck. 7 pages fully illustrated in black and white.
- Rud Thygesen & Johnny Sørensen. 8 pages fully illustrated in black and white.
- Arte Facts:
Features work by T. Ammannati & G. P. Vitalli, Gerd Lange, Lindau & Lindekrantz, Jan Ekselius, Rodney Kinsman, Robin Day, André Vandenbeck, Robert & Trix Haussmann, Bruno Pey, Preben Fabricius, Jørgen Kastholm, Bernd Münzebrook, Alberto Rosselli & Abe Kozo, Bjørn Wiinblad, Arne Vodder, Medarbejderne, Carin Nilsson, Dagens Nyheter, Åke Andersson, John Kandell, Carl Malmsten, and others.
Includes advertising work by Johannes Hansen, Georg Jensen, Erik Jørgensen, Louis Poulsen & Co., Royal Copenhagen Porcelain, Stelton, Bang & Olufsen, Bella Center, Bing & Grøndahl, Frederica Stolefabrik, Gabriel, Ritz Hanse Eft., Hans J. Wegner, Knud Holscher, Grethe Meyer, Arne Jacobsen, Erik Magnussen, Børge Mogensen, Verner Panton, Salora, Ligna, Lamor, J. L. Møller, Magnus Olesen, R. Randers, C. Danel, 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.”