Mar 20, 2007

Totally Tubular: The Cesca chair


The "Cesca" chair is always something I associated with the 1980s, I guess because they were the chairs in my kitchen as a kid, but I recently was reminded that the Marcel Breuer for Knoll design dates back to 1928. Apparently he conceived of the first tubular steel chair (named after his daughter Francesca) in 1925, based on the tubed frame of a bicycle. The design is noted for having an industrial-age aesthetic of cantilevered tubular steel as well as being functional, simple and modern. I can't say for sure if the chairs that I used to hide my toys under had Marcel Breuer's signature and a Knoll stamp of authenticity on them because my parents don't have them anymore and were probably sold at a garage sale along side my brothers prized Star Wars action figure collection. Which is a lesson: never sell anything. Today a single Cesca chair can be purchased for $733 at Hive Modern.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Many people, at least in the UK, bought chairs in this style in the 1970s and 1980s, from shops such as Habitat, Heals or John Lewis. They did get popular during that era, maybe because of the chrome?

Lizzie said...

From my mom: "[They were] knockoffs, and they are very uncomfortable."

Alexis said...

i love those chairs... i had comepletely forgotten about them. Thank you for reminding me!