About the Item
This magnificent set of 20 mahogany dining chairs was designed by one of the visionaries of the mid century modern period, Paul McCobb. McCobb intentionally lightens both the silhouette and weight of the traditional dining chair here with uninterrupted mahogany frames that swoop up and down and angle in and out and feel light and airy. Upscale chic. Architectural. McCobb embellishes these dining chairs with brass H shaped cross stretchers that glow and warmly beckon with upper crust mid century modern elegance – a unique feature to this McCobb design. Strong high quality mahogany frames are tailor made with curved backs, angled arms and angled seats all designed by McCobb to keep you comfortable and supported in ergonomic bliss for long dinner parties. Fresh and clean. Fully professionally restored from top to bottom. Newly professionally refinished mahogany frames stained as per original. Newly professionally reupholstered in a mid century modern style geometric woven fabric rated highly durable (over 50k double rubs). Newly polished brass H cross stretchers glow. Measurements:
Arm Chair
36″h x 22.5″d x 24″w sh 19
Side Chair
36″h x 22.5″d x 18″w sh 19
About the Designer
“The single aesthetic attribute of vintage Paul McCobb furniture is that the designer completely forsook ornament — his pieces have no flourishes. And yet, because they are honest — McCobb’s chairs, desks and dining tables are made of solid wood, usually maple or birch, often paired with frames and legs of wrought iron; the cabinets are traditionally scaled; the seating pieces have historic antecedents such as the Windsor chair — his mid-century modern work has warmth and presence.
You could call the Massachusetts-born McCobb a man of parts. As a furniture designer, his work combined the attributes of many of his now better-known peers.
Like the work of Bauhaus designers such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, McCobb’s furniture had purity of form and line. Like the designs of Florence Knoll and George Nelson and his associates, McCobb’s work was efficient and purposeful. And even like George Nakashima, he was adept at interpreting traditional forms, in particular those of chairs, for the 20th century.
More than any other designer besides Russel Wright, with his ubiquitous ceramic tableware, McCobb was arguably responsible for the introduction of modern design into middle-class American households — if for no other reason than that he designed the 1952 set for the original Today show.
McCobb, a repeat recipient of the Good Design Award from the Museum of Modern Art, also designed cohesive lines of furnishings, such as his best-known Planner Group, that gave homes an instant “look.” He designed for several companies, most notably Directional, which was home to McCobb’s Origami chair.
In 1949, in partnership with New York furniture salesman B.G. Mesberg, McCobb set up the Directional Furniture Company, a brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere. Directional opened its doors after McCobb created the high-end Directional Modern line of sofas distributed by the New York-based Modernage Company. Directional also produced designs by other legends such as Paul Evans and Vladimir Kagan.
As you can see from the offerings on 1stDibs, McCobb designs are the pin-striped suit, or the little black dress, of a decor: an essential.”
