A cream tinted plywood chair

DESIGNED BY GERALD SUMMERS, 1933-34, MANUFACTURED BY MAKERS OF SIMPLE FURNITURE, LONDON, 1930S

Details
A cream tinted plywood chair
Designed by Gerald Summers, 1933-34, manufactured by Makers of Simple Furniture, London, 1930s
The seat, back and legs cut from a single sheet of plywood, the whole with overall creamy white-tinted French polish finish
29in. (74cm.) high

Lot Essay

Designed for use in the tropics, this innovative armchair was constructed from a single piece of bent plywood in order to withstand increased levels of humidity which so adversely effect traditional joinery. Its lack of upholstery also ensured it was less likely to suffer from rot or insect infestation. The apparent simplicity of construction and the relatively low-cost of plywood, which must have initially informed Summers' choice of material, did not however lead to a low-cost chair. The production costs were relatively high, and consequently the chair was unable to compete with less expensive plywood designs already available from Scandinavia. The demand for the chair was small - only 120 examples were produced before Summers' Makers of Simple Furniture was forced to close in 1940.
See: Art et Décoration, 1934, p.59.
Design for Today, June 1934, p. 222.
Architectural Review, Dec. 1935, p. 194 (reproduced left).
Vitra Design Museum, exh. cat. no. 42.
Fiell, (1000 Chairs), p. 232.

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