I've tried searching the archives for this, but didnt find much information. I just found an Aalto stool at a little shop here - and let me tell you the woman brooked no barganing: the price was $20 FIRM!
So - the first question is about care. Whatever jackass owned this previously felt that the stool seat needed a bevel, and so the veneer strip is gone. In addition they sanded off whatever patina may have actually existed. So - how exactly to I treat the wood? Wax? Oil? Poly? As it exists now it is just raw wood with no finish, and on the top the birch ends are exposed. I want to get it sealed asap to prevent warping/cracking.
Secondly - as I was browsing Artek's website looking for some info I came across the Second Cycle page. Just out of curiousity - does anyone know what the prices are for a Second Cycle 60 Stool? I'm in the US and it appears to be only a European distribution. I really have a desire to know just how exorbitant they are 🙂
Do you have any pictures?...
Do you have any pictures? The finish will differ dependant on the age of the stool. The earlier ones (30s and 40s) were finished in a shellac polish or lacquer, later ones in a variety fairly heavy coatings which don't allow for much patina to form anyway. The rim of the seat should have a veneer covering - you think this has been removed or could it be one of the adaptations Artek Pascoe made for the US market? Pics please! The Second Cycle thing to my cynical mind just sounds like a wheeze dreamt up to inflate the price of old stools Artek get hold of
New Old Aalto
Ask and you shall receive. I'm fairly certain the bevel is aftermarket. It doesn't feel crisp enough to be factory - and seems contrary to the original design, altho I dont know enough about Aalto to confirm that.
The finish has definitely been removed - but only on the outside of the legs. Inner sides show original finish -almost orange/amber. Top has been sanded smooth.
Its odd because I don't...
Its odd because I don't think its an Aalto stool that's been made in either Finland or Sweden but perhaps after all one of the ones made in Wisconsin in the 40s. Here's my reasons - a) I've never ever seen a 3 legged stool with four screw holes on each leg, or the round dowel presumably to stop scuffing when stacked b) the top or seat of a normal Aalto stool is hollow - yours looks solid and having been made in sections c) I suspect that the legs are slightly longer than normal (?) Having said all that the kerf joints that make the 'knee bend' are pure Aalto! Hence my guess (and its only a guess) that it was made by Artek Pascoe in the USA - Aalto and Pascoe came to a deal in 1940 to have some furniture produced by Pascoe in Wisconsin but after 5 or 6 years Aalto became disenchanted with 'improvements' made without his say so to make the furniture more appealing to American tastes and broke off the relationship.
This is a pic of the underside of a regular stool + a before and after of a 30s stool which had been painted white which I've just refinished with button polish
If the surface is rough and difficult,
then I'd lightly sand all the surfaces with a fine sandpaper and either put a light polyeurathane finish or wax it with Howard Feed N Wax.
Then, for maintainance, I recommend Howard Feed N Wax, which is a marvelous beeswax and orange oil product that really protects the wood. I use it on all of my wood furniture. It's great.
Beautiful
Paulanna, the four holes threw me a little as well. Both of the new stools I own have 3. However, I was under the belief that the tops were always solid, with a veneer/laminate surface, and a veneer strip to protect the edges.
As for the nubs on the legs - those are felt pads that could have been added by anyone. I haven't measured the legs yet either, but will definitely do that when I get home.
I'll have to do some checking on Aalto Pascoe. I'd love if the stool were that early 🙂
Also Paulanna - what sort of product is 'button wax
Hi LS - the tops of Aalto sto...
Hi LS - the tops of Aalto stools are basically two circular pieces of thin (about 6mm) plywood separated by blockwork around the edges. Try pushing something like a piece of wire or a knitting needle into the little hole thats dead centre on the underside and it'll go through into a void....rap your knuckles on the top it'll sound very hollow too. If you look at the underside of an old Aalto table you'll get an idea of how the stools are made as its pretty much the same but without the lower piece of plywood so open to see. Modern Aalto tables do now have solid tops just to confuse the issue.
Button polish (not a wax) is just one of the various forms of french polish. The original finish used on prewar pieces was very very similar to this (ie a shellac finish soluble in alcohol) although they will have had their own particular recipe to achieve the colour they wanted.
Most
interesting. I had no idea that the stools were made as "hollow-core doors." I wonder if this was intended to allow a little flex in the upper skin under the weight of a sitter ? Was there no light-weight filler between the surfaces, as in a door ? I assume the edge blocking was extended inward where the legs attach. . .?
As to the shape of the edge on Lucifer's old stool, it wouldn't surprise me to know that this was Pascoe's response to Heywood Wakefield et al, for the American market (as suggested).
No luck
I didnt have any luck finding images or descriptions of the Aalto stools through Artek-Pascoe. MoMA has one in their collection given by AP, but the manufacturer is listed as being Finnish.
Does anyone have a cataloge if Artek-Pascoe? I'm really quite curious now if the bevel was original or added later. I've not been able to find any photo of a beveled top either.
Paulanna - I did find an article from TIME in 1940 announcing the opening of Artek-Pascoe. It talks about how Aalto hoped the US manufacturing would streamline the process and make things more affordable. The hollow core stool tops seems much more labor intensive than simply turning out a solid birch round.
I meant
I meant I couldn't find any images of a verified Artek-Pascoe stool to compare to my own. Nothing that exhibits the same sort of bevel. It's actually more rounded than bevelled.
Oh, Paulanna, you were dead on - the stool is about an inch taller than the Finnish versions I've got. When did the Artek-Pascoe thing fall apart?
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com