Slagelse Sofa 185  

I don't have confirmation, but the indications are early designs similar to that sofa by Slagelse had a good chance of being designed by Eva and Nils Koppel.

The 185 sofa was designed before 1952, but no mention of designer in this catalog.

@Herringbone

I know this model as so-called "Allé Sofa", designed by Nanna Ditzel.

But there is no convincing source to confirm that Ditzel attribution. As far as I know.

@mvc According to Nanna Ditzel‘s Estate it wasn’t Nanna.

@cdsilva I‘m thinking Koppel too but would rather be sure. Can anything be deduced from the numbering system? What’s 180 and 190? 

@Herringbone

I think so too, because there is no design by Nanna Ditzel which is produced by Slagelse - as far as I know - and Slagelse is definitely the manufacturer.

@Herringbone

https://aleph-01.kb.dk/F/CYC4UTKF4UX451XGSK6BKAU8XI6Y1QG7YNRYPEIVEXGD2K971L-09096?func=full-set-set&set_number=021753&set_entry=000013&format=999

Nicht uninteressant. Schau dir die Quelle an.

@Herringbone

Und auch das ist nicht uninteressant, denn um die Verwirrung vollständig zu machen, im Bovirke Katalog von 1958 wird das Sofa als BO46, designed by Finn Juhl 1946, abgebildet.

@mvc The Carl Brørup version from the dfi looks very similar, you’re  right. In later production the sofa had a frame at the bottom and a separate cushion, other than the Slagelse sofa. But yes, very similar. The Koppels designed for Bovirke, too, by the way. (Es sind kaum weitere Beteiligte des Deutschen mächtig, fürchte ich.)

@Herringbone

The Koppel sofa is too different, not similar at all.

Maybe - seems as if Carl Brorup was the first who produced the sofa, then the company was taken over by Bovirke, and later Slagelse produced the sofa under license.

But you are right, the designs of Slagelse and Bovirke are a little different too.

Big mystery.

Brørup had two shops, Nyt Hjem and Bovirke. Both sold furniture that Juhl and others designed for Brørup  exclusively. When Brørup died, sales manager Poul Lund took over Bovirke (and the Juhl production) and made it the big export company we still know today. But neither he nor Juhl ever licensed production to Slagelse. Slagelse had their own exclusive range, at the beginning  designed by the Christensen brothers, later on by many known architects.

Thanks @Herringbone for the interesting info.

Now the initial question still remains: who designed the Slagelse sofa? 😎 

By the way, it is noticeable that in the Slagelse catalog some designs are only shown with a number. Like the sofa. This is unusual, because a manufacturer actually likes to adorn itself with the names of well-known designers.. But it could be possible ... and this is only a theory ... that the not specified models were designed by the owners of the company, Erik & Alfred Christensen.

An indication of this theory is that the boomerang chair, for example, is also not specified, and why not? ... exactly, because it is a design by Alfred Christensen.

Ergo, the sofa could be designed by Erik or Alfred Christensen.

The 1952 catalog does not list the designer for any of the pieces. There are quite a few Koppel designs in there which are documented elsewhere. The boomerang chairs, credited to Christensen, came later.

In the catalogs from 1954 onwards most designers are listed.

Based on the range of model numbers in the Slagelse 1952 catalog and other Koppel designs nearby and the fact that there are two variations of the 185 sofa displayed with known Koppel pieces it is very, very hard to imagine the 185 sofa was designed by anyone other than Eva & Nils Koppel.  If a catalog or advertisement proof or something else ever surfaces it is going to say Koppel.