I could not find much info about the company online (it would help if I knew Swedish). My guess is that they went out of business in the late 60's or early 70's, as it appears they produced nothing later . Assuming they numbered their pieces sequentially, the desk you had was probably made toward the end of the company's lifespan. And the SMI probably came out with a newer logo at that time. Here's a shot of a company label that was on one of these desks for sale online.
Thank you for your time & replies. I've seen that label on this thread also. There are many online that sold & for sale averaging about $1000. All have the label like yours, all of which the Nr starts with a 1. Mine is also the only one I've found that started with a 2. And the first number on mine is not in alignment with the other numbers. Mine is the cyclinder rolltop with 3 drawers. My legs were square not tapered & the graining on the rolltop was just vertical no diagonal inlays. Have learned a lot & will be more diligent before selling. I loved the desk/burea but didn't really have space or use for the desk portion but am having a little seller's remorse. Gonna try to post pic of desk Monday.
These desks were made with different types of veneers and leg styles, including no legs, but I have not seen any with labels other than the BG or the SMI ones. Some have reportedly sold for as much at $1,700 but most that have sold in auctions have gone in the $150-$300 range.
On a Egon Ostergaard side note, I came across an auction listing for this piece made by Fixotra Mobler of Denmark with a mark listing him as the designer. Style has some similarities to the BG desks. I looked on the Danish Furniture Index and there is nothing there about this company, or Egon Ostergaard for that matter.
@mark737. Thanks for sharing that image; it is the first time I have seen Egon Ostergaard's name on a piece of furniture. I was begining to think he was/is a figment of someone's imagination, a random made up name plucked out of the ethernet!!!
Fixotræ Mobler is a new one too.
Knowledge shared is Knowledge gained
@mark737. Went Googling... found the following links; Totally random, but possibly relevant!!
https://www.tvmidtvest.dk/artikel/grand-prix-anja-er-halvt-vestjyde
https://www.facebook.com/groups/136793153791371/permalink/411491932988157/
Knowledge shared is Knowledge gained
@lexi Thanks for the interesting links. So it seems Egon owned Fixotrae in Oster-Assels in the 60's, and then the family moved to Australia in the 1972. An article from 2014 says he was 76, so born in 1938. If those secretary desks were designed by Egon Ostergaard, presumably in the 40's or 50's, it would have had to have been another Egon, perhaps his father.
His granddaughter Anja won The Voice Australia in 2014 and apparently is pretty famous down there:
Still have not found confirmation on who designed the desks in question. I found a couple of items that discussed the history of BG, including these two. Unfortunately one is behind a pay wall and I'm a little short on kronor.
https://tillvaxtmarkaryd.se/markaryd-calling-181101-nobel-film-historia/
https://www.smalanningen.se/artikel/broder-skapade-storforetag
I looked at bunch of their furniture listed on Swedish auction sites, including many secretary desks, and I don't think any listed Egon Ostergaard as the designer. It could be one of these deals where one seller mis-attributes a piece and it gets repeated to the point where it becomes accepted as fact. I think I've joined Leif in his skepticism about Egon as the designer of these desks.
Thanks to everyone....my label seems to be a mystery. I read where SMI merged with another association around 2002 perhaps the label changed then? Mine is definitely a more plain/modern looking label. I've also read opinions that a lot of furniture was produced by SMI members in the 80's & 90's so maybe someone purchased the patent or right to produce those desks? My label looks to have the 528 but nothing else matches any other label I've seen. I also found no "Made In" stamp. Again thanks for all the information.
Hi Mark737, Egon Ostergaard is my Dad and yes he did design the little “chatol “ as we call it, in your photo. I actually bought that very piece in 2019 and had it shipped to Australia where we live. It is the second piece of Dads furniture i have found. The first one was in a little town called Skælskør on the island of Sjælland. My niece was getting married and wanted a wedding in the forrest Viking style and this town was in the middle of nowhere. I would never have gone there on any of my trips to DK. I was wandering around the town with my Dad and walked into a little second hand store and Dad walked up to the chatol and said “I made that in 1963” Sure enough his hand writing was on the back of the drawers and he proceeded to rearrange them as they were in the wrong places. I of course immediately bought it and had it shipped home. Mum and Dads house burnt down in the 2013 bushfires in Winmallee. He lost all his pieces that he had brought over in 1972 when we immigrated,including the piece he made for his final cabinet making course. So bit by bit I’m scouring DK for any of his pieces. He was designing/manufacturing from the late 50’s and started Fixotræ in about 1962 when he and mum moved to Øster Assels. I was born in 1965. I thought you might find all this interesting. Would love to hear from you if you find any of my dads furniture.
Hi leif ericson-Zephyr Renner My dad is Egon Ostergaard. Please don’t call him a nobody. It is very rude and disrespectful.You have never met him, you know nothing about him and I’m sure you have never seen his furniture in person. You are of course entitled to you opinion but please don’t be mean. If you have any interest in learning a bit more about my dad then you can read my reply to Mark737 who sounds like a very nice man.
Dear @Ostergaard - it is absolutely great that you found your way here to this forum and that your shared your story.
Please do not take leif ericson's comment personally. It is often the case that people on this forum ask for designers of pieces because they hope to gain value or knowledge from the names that are then mentioned. That can indeed be the case with some names. However, there are also a great many designer and manufacturer names that are largely unknown even to experts because the ones named may have only worked for one company, because the company may have been short-lived, because the pieces did not stand out from the rest of the market, and because the designers therefore did not attract much interest. In addition, for most people - even Danes - many Danish names sound nondescript. It would be easy to come up with a fake designer's name for marketing purposes, and retailers who want to name their pieces certainly do from time to time. Just because it sounds better to say Designed by Jens Petersen, Peder Jensen, Egon Olsen, Svend Clausen or Claus Hansen. But for a valuation of the piece, these names doen't mean anything. That's why discussions about the originators of certain designs sometimes lead nowhere - because it simply doesn't matter for a value consideration or a design-historical consideration whether a piece was produced by an unknown manufacturer or by Jens Pedersen, whom no one has ever heard of before. Your father probably was a decent designer and his company probably was a decent factory, but he obviously was one of many on the market and - if only because of the late period he was active in - he didn't leave great marks. This is what Leif Ericson wanted to express. But his statement has nothing to do with personal esteem towards your father. On the contrary, anyone who has been part of Danish furniture design history is a valued and welcome guest on this forum.
So say hi to your father from all of us.
"People buy a chair, and they don't really care who designed it." (Arne Jacobsen)
@Ostergaard Thank you so much for taking the time to share this information about your father and his work. With so much incorrect information floating around online about designers and makers, we are always very appreciative when we hear from family members who can set the record straight. Do you have any idea how your father's name came to be associated with the roll top desks made by Broderna Gustafssons of Sweden? Very sorry to hear about the loss of your parent's home and your father's furniture. This forum has members all over the world, and I think I can speak for my fellow members to say we will keep an eye out for any of his pieces and happily let you know if we see one come up for sale.
Hi, I too would like to know how his name became synonymous with the roll top desk. I have a couple of pics of the one I owned in this thread.
My label wasn't Broderna but had the letters SMI just as I typed, not the round over stamped usual SMI login I find on auction sites. No made in Denmark stamp. I'll see if I can find a pic of my label. Would love to hear more. Will keep an eye out in New Orleans for pieces. The one I posted was picked up on the side of the road. I loved it but finally let it go to someone else who loved it
@Ostergaard That is so awesome! I live in Norway and have a desk I have been wondering about! Now I understand who designed it. My chatol also have the MSI sticker and now that I read your post, I found numbers written with pencil on the back of the drawers! Mine unfortunately has some scratches as the previous owner obviously treated it a bit careless, but I love it anyway. I have not seen another chatol made with as much detail as mine.
Hi there @ostergaard! This thread has been the ending spot of my rabbit hole! This has been very interesting to read. I wanted to let you know I have recently come into possession of an Egon Ostergaard table that is stamped and says Fixotra Mobler. I will try to attach a photo. It’s a very beautiful piece and I ended up after trying to research it.
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