Gispen 216

Chair with a rod-steel frame. Both the seat and back are of beech plywood mounted on shock-absorbing rubber discs. Features Bakelite armrests. The Gispen 216 was another of Wim Rietveld's designs. It is almost identical in appearance to the model 116 chair, the one difference being the straight black Bakelite armrests. The same armrests were used for several other chairs in the extensive Gispen collection. Like the basic model, the 216 was sold mainly to the business community. Both chairs were recognised as aesthetically pleasing, solid, practical and inexpensive - qualities that had wide appeal. Before being withdrawn from production in the late 1960s, the Gispen 216 was briefly sold under model number 1247.