- Product:
- B3 Club chair
- Manufacturer:
- Phillips
- Architonic ID:
- 4102946
- Launched:
- 1925
- Country:
- United States
- Category:
- Furnishings
- Address
- Telephone
- Website
Key facts
Product description
NICKEL-PLATED TUBULAR STEEL FRAME, MOUNTED WITH DOMED HEXAGONAL BOLTS, SLUNG WITH STRIPS OF EISENGARN
283/4 IN. (73 CM) HIGH
LITERATURE:
MARIAN PAGE, FURNITURE DESIGNED BY ARCHITECTS, WHITNEY LIBRARY OF DESIGN, 1980, P. 169
CHRISTOPHER WILK, MARCEL BREUER. FURNITURE AND INTERIORS, NEW YORK, 1981, PP. 37-40, 23-25
SEE ALSO: MAGDALENA DROSTE, MARCEL BREUER, COLOGNE, 1994, P. 62, PL. (D)
IN 1925 BREUER STARTED TO DEVELOP THE DESIGN THAT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE "B3" OR "WASSILY CHAIR." "IN FACT," HE EXPLAINED, "I TOOK THE PIPE DIMENSIONS (APPROXIMATELY TWENTY MILLIMETRES IN DIAMETER) FROM MY BICYCLE. I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO GET IT OR HOW TO FIGURE IT OUT." THE CHAIR DEVELOPED FROM THE FIRST VERSION, WHICH CONNECTED THE LEGS EITHER SIDE IN A RUNNER OR SLED ARRANGEMENT, TO THE DEFINITIVE VERSION, REPRESENTED IN THE PRESENT LOT, IN WHICH THE BACK UPRIGHTS ARE CONNECTED IN AN UNBROKEN DESIGN.
IN 1927 BREUER WROTE: "TWO YEARS AGO WHEN I SAW THE FINISHED VERSION OF MY FIRST STEEL CLUB ARMCHAIR, I THOUGHT THAT THIS OUT OF ALL MY WORK WOULD BRING ME THE MOST CRITICISM. IT IS MY MOST EXTREME WORK BOTH IN ITS OUTWARD APPEARANCE AND IN THE USE OF MATERIALS; IT IS THE LEAST ARTISTIC, THE MOST LOGICAL, THE LEAST 'COSY' AND THE MOST MECHANICAL."
IN 1926 BREUER HAD APPLIED FOR A GEBRAUCHSMUSTER (DESIGN REGISTRATION) FOR SEVEN DESIGNS - A STOOL, CLUB ARMCHAIR, FOLDING CLUB ARMCHAIR, SIDE CHAIR, SIDE CHAIR WITH ARMS, THEATRE SEATING UNIT AND DRAWING TABLE. THESE DESIGNS WERE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FIRST STANDARD MÖBEL CATALOGUE ABOUT A YEAR LATER. STANDARD MÖBEL WAS SET UP IN LATE 1926-EARLY 1927 BY FELLOW HUNGARIAN ARCHITECT KALMAN LENGEL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BREUER. ALL MODEL NUMBERS IN THIS CATALOGUE WERE PREFIXED WITH A B. THERE WERE EIGHT IN ALL, THOSE LISTED ABOVE PLUS A VARIANT OF THE THEATRE SEATING.
THE COMPANY'S FINANCIAL SITUATION WAS PRECARIOUS AND BREUER WAS ENCOURAGED BY LENGEL AND NEW PARTNER LORENZ TO SIGN OVER THE RIGHTS TO HIS DESIGNS TO BE PRODUCED BY THEM TO SAVE STANDARD MÖBEL. THEY, HOWEVER, CHOSE TO PRODUCE A FEW OF THE ITEMS FROM THE ORIGINAL CATALOGUE AND DID NOT EVEN CONSIDER PUTTING ANY OF BREUER'S NEW DESIGNS INTO PRODUCTION. BREUER THEREFORE BEGAN IN LATE 1928 NEGOTIATIONS WITH GEBRÜDER THONET AND BY EARLY 1929 THEY WERE ADVERTISING HIS DESIGNS. THERE WAS A PERIOD WHEN BOTH COMPANIES WERE PRODUCING SOME OF THE SAME DESIGNS BY BREUER, AND STANDARD MÖBEL WAS CERTAINLY PRODUCING THE B3 IN NOVEMBER 1928. IT WAS NOT UNTIL APRIL 11, 1929, THAT THONET PURCHASED STANDARD MÖBEL FROM LORENZ.
283/4 IN. (73 CM) HIGH
LITERATURE:
MARIAN PAGE, FURNITURE DESIGNED BY ARCHITECTS, WHITNEY LIBRARY OF DESIGN, 1980, P. 169
CHRISTOPHER WILK, MARCEL BREUER. FURNITURE AND INTERIORS, NEW YORK, 1981, PP. 37-40, 23-25
SEE ALSO: MAGDALENA DROSTE, MARCEL BREUER, COLOGNE, 1994, P. 62, PL. (D)
IN 1925 BREUER STARTED TO DEVELOP THE DESIGN THAT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE "B3" OR "WASSILY CHAIR." "IN FACT," HE EXPLAINED, "I TOOK THE PIPE DIMENSIONS (APPROXIMATELY TWENTY MILLIMETRES IN DIAMETER) FROM MY BICYCLE. I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO GET IT OR HOW TO FIGURE IT OUT." THE CHAIR DEVELOPED FROM THE FIRST VERSION, WHICH CONNECTED THE LEGS EITHER SIDE IN A RUNNER OR SLED ARRANGEMENT, TO THE DEFINITIVE VERSION, REPRESENTED IN THE PRESENT LOT, IN WHICH THE BACK UPRIGHTS ARE CONNECTED IN AN UNBROKEN DESIGN.
IN 1927 BREUER WROTE: "TWO YEARS AGO WHEN I SAW THE FINISHED VERSION OF MY FIRST STEEL CLUB ARMCHAIR, I THOUGHT THAT THIS OUT OF ALL MY WORK WOULD BRING ME THE MOST CRITICISM. IT IS MY MOST EXTREME WORK BOTH IN ITS OUTWARD APPEARANCE AND IN THE USE OF MATERIALS; IT IS THE LEAST ARTISTIC, THE MOST LOGICAL, THE LEAST 'COSY' AND THE MOST MECHANICAL."
IN 1926 BREUER HAD APPLIED FOR A GEBRAUCHSMUSTER (DESIGN REGISTRATION) FOR SEVEN DESIGNS - A STOOL, CLUB ARMCHAIR, FOLDING CLUB ARMCHAIR, SIDE CHAIR, SIDE CHAIR WITH ARMS, THEATRE SEATING UNIT AND DRAWING TABLE. THESE DESIGNS WERE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FIRST STANDARD MÖBEL CATALOGUE ABOUT A YEAR LATER. STANDARD MÖBEL WAS SET UP IN LATE 1926-EARLY 1927 BY FELLOW HUNGARIAN ARCHITECT KALMAN LENGEL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BREUER. ALL MODEL NUMBERS IN THIS CATALOGUE WERE PREFIXED WITH A B. THERE WERE EIGHT IN ALL, THOSE LISTED ABOVE PLUS A VARIANT OF THE THEATRE SEATING.
THE COMPANY'S FINANCIAL SITUATION WAS PRECARIOUS AND BREUER WAS ENCOURAGED BY LENGEL AND NEW PARTNER LORENZ TO SIGN OVER THE RIGHTS TO HIS DESIGNS TO BE PRODUCED BY THEM TO SAVE STANDARD MÖBEL. THEY, HOWEVER, CHOSE TO PRODUCE A FEW OF THE ITEMS FROM THE ORIGINAL CATALOGUE AND DID NOT EVEN CONSIDER PUTTING ANY OF BREUER'S NEW DESIGNS INTO PRODUCTION. BREUER THEREFORE BEGAN IN LATE 1928 NEGOTIATIONS WITH GEBRÜDER THONET AND BY EARLY 1929 THEY WERE ADVERTISING HIS DESIGNS. THERE WAS A PERIOD WHEN BOTH COMPANIES WERE PRODUCING SOME OF THE SAME DESIGNS BY BREUER, AND STANDARD MÖBEL WAS CERTAINLY PRODUCING THE B3 IN NOVEMBER 1928. IT WAS NOT UNTIL APRIL 11, 1929, THAT THONET PURCHASED STANDARD MÖBEL FROM LORENZ.