Now I Sit Me Down (30 page)

7. The Henry Ford of Chairs

Christopher Wilk's
Thonet: 150 Years of Furniture
(Barron's, 1980) is essential reading.
Thonet Bentwood & Other Furniture: The 1904 Illustrated Catalog
(Dover Publications, 1980) is a useful source of information on various Thonet products. I also consulted Alexander von Vegesack's
Thonet: Classic Furniture in Bent Wood and Tubular Steel
(Rizzoli, 1996), Hans H. Buchwald's
Form from Process: The Thonet Chair,
an exhibition catalogue (Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, 1967), and Eve B. Ottillinger's
Gebrüder Thonet: Möbel aus gebogenem Holz
(Böhlau Verlag, 2003).

8. By Design

The Vitra Design Museum's quote on the Wassily Chair is from its website's “100 Masterpieces.” The Museum of Modern Art quote is from Barry Bergdoll and Leah Dickerson's
Bauhaus, 1919–1933: Workshops for Modernity
(Museum of Modern Art, 2009). Philip Johnson described his Barcelona Chairs in “The Seven Crutches of Modern Architecture” in
Writings
(Oxford University Press, 1979). My old professor Peter Collins's observation on the Rietveld chair is from “Furniture Givers as Form Givers: Is Design an All-Encompassing Skill?”
Progressive Architecture
(March 1963). For information on Marcel Breuer's furniture, I consulted Christopher Wilk's
Marcel Breuer: Furniture and Interiors
(Museum of Modern Art, 1981) and
Modernism: Designing a New World
, Christopher Wilk, ed. (V & A Publications, 2006). The best single source on Alvar Aalto's chairs is
Alvar Aalto Furniture
, Juhani Pallasmaa, ed. (MIT Press, 1984). Aalto's sanatorium furniture is discussed in “The Paimio Interiors” by Kaarina Mikonranta in
Alvar Aalto Architect, Volume 5, Paimio Sanatorium, 1929–33
(Alvar Aalto Foundation, 2014). The
Architectural Review
quote is from “Standard Wooden Furniture at the Finnish Exhibition,”
Architectural Review
74 (December 1, 1933). Saarinen and Eames's collaboration at Cranbrook is described by R. Craig Miller in “Interior Design and Furniture” in
Design in America: The Cranbrook Vision 1925–1950
(Harry N. Abrams, 1984). Information on the Eames molded plywood chairs is from Christopher Wilk's “Furnishing the Future: Bent Mood and Metal Furniture, 1925–46” in
Bent Wood and Metal Furniture: 1850–1946
, Derek E. Ostergard, ed. (University of Washington Press, 1987). I also depended on Pat Kirkham's
Charles and Ray Eames: Designers of the Twentieth Century
(MIT Press, 1995). The long quote by Charles Eames about the plywood shell chair is from John Neuhart, Marilyn Neuhart, and Ray Eames,
Eames Design: The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames
(Harry N. Abrams, 1989).

9. Great Dane

Wegner's obituary, “Hans Wegner Dies at 92; Danish Furniture Designer,” appeared in
The New York Times
(February 6, 2007). The chief source of the Wegner quotes is a comprehensive book on his life and work published on the occasion of the centenary of his birth: Christian Holmsted Olesen's
Wegner: Just One Good Chair
, Mark Mussari, trans. (Hatje Cantz, 2014). Another useful source is Jens Bernsen's short monograph
Hans J. Wegner
(Danish Design Center, 2001). David Pye's
The Nature and Art of Workmanship
(Cambium Press, 1968) is an exceptional meditation on the subject. The first American coverage of Danish Modern furniture was “Danish Furniture: Old Hands Give Shape to New Ideas,”
Interiors
(February 1950). The Danish Modern movement is described in Per H. Hansen's “The Construction of a Brand: The Case of Danish Design, 1930–1970” (unpublished paper, EBHA-Conference, Barcelona, September 2004), Andrew Hollingsworth's
Danish Modern
(Gibbs Smith, 2008), and
Contemporary Danish Design
, Arne Karlsen et al., eds. (Danish Society of Arts and Crafts and Industrial Design, 1960). The 1960 Metropolitan Museum show was reviewed by Sanka Knox, “Long-Awaited Museum Show Opens,”
The New York Times
(October 15, 1960).

10. Fold and Knockdown, Swing and Roll

Information on the Chinese folding chair is from
Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture.
Nicholas A. Brawer's
British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas, 1740–1914
(Harry N. Abrams, 2001) is essential reading on the subject. The IKEA quote is from Lauren Collins, “House Perfect” (
The
New Yorker
, October 3, 2011). Although I don't agree with all of Galen Cranz's conclusions,
The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body, and Design
(W. W. Norton, 1998) is a rare example of a scholarly treatment of the subject. The quote about Indian
jhoolas
is from Kusum Choppra's
Beyond Diamond Rings
(Pustak Mahal, 2010). Eighteenth-century swings are discussed by Donald Posner in “The Swinging Women of Watteau and Fragonard,”
The Art Bulletin
, vol. 64, no. 1 (March 1982). The description of Oeben's mechanical chair is included in Rosemarie Stratmann's “Design and Mechanisms in the Furniture of Jean-François Oeben,”
Furniture History
9 (1973). The description of Grollier's wheelchair is from Gaspard Grollier de Servière,
Recueil d'ouvrages curieux de mathématique et mécanique, ou description du cabinet de monsieur Grollier de Servière
(C. A. Jombert, 1751). Merlin and his inventions are described in
John Joseph Merlin: The Ingenious Mechanick
(Greater London Council, 1985).

11. Human Engineering

The prewar saga of Anton Lorenz and the cantilever chair is described in detail by Otakar Máčel in “Avant-Garde Design and the Law: Litigation over the Cantilever Chair,”
Journal of Design History
, vol. 3, nos. 2/3 (1990), and in Christopher Wilk's
Marcel Breuer: Furniture and Interiors
. Lorenz's later work in America on the recliner has received less attention, and I am indebted to Edward Tenner's
Our Own Devices: The Past and Future of Body Technology
(Alfred A. Knopf, 2003). The origin of the Aeron Chair is recounted by Cliff Kuang in “The Secret History of the Aeron Chair,”
Slate
(posted November 5, 2012). Seth Stevenson's comments on the limitations of the adjustable task chair are from “A Search for the Best Desk Chair,”
Slate
(posted December 6, 2005). Diffrient's observation about the limitations of ergonomic chairs is from an interview with Martin C. Pedersen, “Niels Diffrient: A Tribute in Conversation,”
Metropolis
(posted June 17, 2013). The Humanscale manual quoted is Niels Diffrient, Alvin R. Tilley, and Joan C. Bardagly,
Humanscale 1/2/3: Sizes of People, Seating Considerations, Requirements for the Handicapped and Elderly
(MIT Press, 1974). Diffrient's autobiography,
Confessions of a Generalist
(Generalist Ink, 2012), contains much useful information about furniture design and is a revealing window into the mind of the noted industrial designer. The Diffrient quote about working with Saarinen is contained in Jayne Merkel's
Eero Saarinen
(Phaidon Press, 2005). The Diffrient observation about airplane seats is from “Objective Performance, Comfort Indicators and Compromises” in
Chair: The Current State of the Art, with the How, the Why, and the What of It
, Peter Bradford and Barbara Prete, eds. (Thomas Y. Crowell, 1978). Diffrient's explanation of his method of designing chairs is from a video interview on the Humanscale website. Diffrient's comment about the insoluble problem of the chair is from his “Objective Performance, Comfort Indicators and Compromises.” The Canadian study of sitting ailments is P. T. Katzmarzyk et al., “Sitting Time and Mortality from All Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer,”
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
, vol. 41, no. 5 (May 2009); the Australian study is Hidde P. van der Plogge et al., “Sitting Time and All-Cause Mortality Risk in 222,497 Australian Adults,”
Archives of Internal Medicine
(March 26, 2012). Mary Plumb Blade is quoted from “Physical Forces and Damages, Your Sitting Behavior, Move” in
Chair
.
Florence Knoll and Eero Saarinen's comments about the Womb Chair are contained in Brian Lutz's “Furniture, Form and Innovation” in
Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future
, Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen and Donald Albrecht, eds. (Yale University Press, 2006). Vladimir Nabokov's description of his writing day is from a
Playboy
interview (January 1964).

12. Our Time

The satirical article “Report Confirms No Need to Make New Chairs for the Time Being” is from
The Onion
(posted July 15, 2014). Ralph Caplan is quoted in “His Perspective, Chairs as Symbols of Civilization and Culture” in
Chair
.
The Pollock quote on designing the Knoll executive chair is contained in Kelsey Keith, “Charles Pollock (1930–2013),”
Artforum
(February 21, 2014). The observations on monobloc chairs by John Dunnigan, Marco Velardi, and Jasper Morrison are from e-mails to the author; Andrew Morrison's comments were made in conversation. The monobloc chair has not been the subject of academic study, but a good overview is provided by Alice Rawsthorn in “Celebrating the Everyday of Chairs,”
The New York Times
(February 4, 2007). The “Tupperware container” quote is from Hank Stuever's “Just Resin; The Humble Plastic Chair Is Always at Home,”
The
Washington Post
(May 31, 2001). Jasper Morrison discusses his work in
Everything but the Walls
(Lars Müller Publishers, 2002).

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book had its genesis when I read a press release about a new chair designed by Tadao Ando. I want to thank Eric Wills, my supportive editor at
Architect
, for encouraging me to pursue the subject in a magazine article that ultimately led to this book. Melissa Shelton at Carl Hansen & Søn was helpful in arranging for me to see—and sit in—the Ando chair. As the book unfolded, I sat in many more chairs, and I would like to thank Linda F. Kasper at the Knoll Museum, Karen V. Nichols and Ben Wintner at Michael Graves Design Group, and Jodee Cuddihy of Pompanoosuc Mills in Philadelphia, who patiently allowed me to try out several Diffrient task chairs. The staff at Design Within Reach in SoHo, where I tried the Air-Chair, was particularly accommodating.

I want to acknowledge John Dunnigan, not only for making two armchairs that have afforded me a great deal of pleasure over the years, but also for sharing his thoughtful observations about furniture design during a morning conversation in Providence, and not least for drawing my attention to the monobloc plastic chair. A belated thanks to the late Peter Joseph, who introduced me to Dunnigan's work and provided an early opportunity to write about furniture in a catalogue essay for his gallery. My old friend Andrew Morrison gave me the considered benefit of his many years of experience in designing furniture. Thanks to Jasper Morrison for sharing his thoughts on monobloc chairs, and to Alberto Perazza of Magis, which manufactures the Air-Chair. My appreciation to the magazine editors Marco Velardi and Martin C. Pedersen for their observations. Thanks to Laura Holland at Hickory Chair. My Penn colleague Nathan Sivin suggested several useful sources on Chinese chairs, and also clarified some Chinese terms. Michael Podmaniczky was generous in sharing his knowledge of Samuel Gragg and the Elastic Chair, and Robert Adam provided interesting material on the klismos
.
Thanks also to Dame Elizabeth Estève-Coll, and to Christopher Wilk of the Victoria and Albert Museum for his observations on Anton Lorenz. My McGill colleague Vikram Bhatt recounted his experience of the
jhoola
swing. My wife, Shirley Hallam, partner in many chair acquisitions over the years, cast a critical eye on my writing and also suggested the monobloc/flip-flops analogy. Thanks also to my agent, Andrew Wylie; to my editor, Eric Chinski; and to Laird Gallagher, Rodrigo Corral, and all the folks at FSG.

 

INDEX

The index that appears in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

Aalto, Alvar and Aino; Paimio lounge chair; stool

Abercrombie & Fitch

Adam, Robert (1728–92)

Adam, Robert (b. 1948)

Adirondack chair

Aeron Chair

aesthetics

Africa

Air-Chair

Aitken, John

Åkerblom, Bengt

Alexander, Christopher

Alexandria

Alfonso XIII, King of Spain

Allen, J. W.

America: Colonial; pre-Columbian;
see also
United States

American Airlines

Amsterdam

Ando, Tadao; Dream Chair

Andry de Boisregard, Nicolas

Ant Chair

anthropometrics

Antioch

Apartamento

Arab Revolt (1916–18)

Architectural Review

Architecture Without Architects
(Rudofsky)

Argentina

armchairs; American; ancient; Chinese; folding; French (
see also
bergères; fauteuils); medieval; modernist; as office chairs;
see also
wing chairs

Arnold, Fredric

Arp, Jean

Art Nouveau

Arts and Crafts movement

Artek

Asplund, Erik Gunnar

Assyrians

At the Moulin Rouge
(Toulouse-Lautrec)