ATTRIBUTED TO KARL SPRINGER, 1970S-80S

Karl Springer (1931-1991) was born in Berlin and emigrated to New York in the 1950s. He began his career as a bookbinder and then became top window dresser at the Lord & Taylor Department Store. Springer was inspired by the interior designer Jean-Michel Frank and furniture designer Tommi Parzinger. During these early years in New York, Springer used his bookbinding skills to create decorative objects covered in fine leathers and skins. Springer’s iconic furniture was created by using inlaid-wood veneers, rare woods and faux finishes and he was credited with reviving shagreen, the rough skin of an Asian shark, which had been fashionable in the 1920s. Springer was posthumously honoured a one man show at the New York School of Interior Design 1994.