I purchased these a few years ago and have never been able to find other exact examples. The two elements that confuse me are the horizontal springy-cable back (not sure of the proper term) and curve of the armrests.
I often see these chairs, which are very similar:
But those have the vertical wood slat backrest. There is also a difference in the shape of the armrest--mine have a sort of "dip" near the back while the example chair is straight.
Selig definitely did sell chairs with the springy cable backrest:
Clearly the rest of that chair is quite different.
This chair has a similarly shaped armrest but a caned backrest: https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/seating/lounge-chairs/danish-modern-lounge-chair-ib-kofod-larsen-selig/id-f_954292/
So I'm not really sure what to think. Is my chair a frankenchair of some sort? Could Selig have made changes over time without updating the catalog drawings?
Finally, should I be comfortable calling this an Ib Kofod-Larsen design?
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I have observed that Selig chairs have gone through experimentation. I recently sold a fairly rare early Kofod Larsen for Selig chair, and it was subtly different than the catalog images. And I could find other chairs along the same rubric, but also subtly different than the catalog image. These were all very subtle things.
That said, I do not know for certain Selig did not update the catalog to keep in sync with minor changes. I've only ever seen a few pages of a few catalogs.
In the case of your chair, it is definitely a completely different design than the patent image. The rear leg and backrest structure is totally different. That sort of difference is well outside the range of "experimentation" that I have seen. I imagine somewhere there is either a catalog that shows your chair, or one extremely similar.
I think there is a certain presumption that Selig chairs are Ib Kofod Larsen designs, with a few well know exceptions (like Poul Jensen's Z chair). If it were mine I would certainly feel comfortable "attributing" it to IKL based on the Selig medallion and the likeness to his designs. I, personally, would believe the attribution, and I think most anyone else would too. Of course, I would want a piece of vintage documentation to prove it.
Mine either. Thanks!
Dumb question: the Selig catalog says available in walnut and teak. Yet the chair is stained beech. And every Selig chair I've seen in person has been stained beech. Did Selig mean "walnut" and "teak" stained beech? Or are there actually walnut and teak version of this (and other chairs)?
I do not think the catalog had a year printed on it unfortunately. I remember looking for one.
Leif, yes, I have seen teak versions of quite a few of Selig's more popular lounge chairs. The Z Chair seems more common than most. I have also seen the Spear Point chair in Walnut, and I once owned a set of the "Picket Back" sofa and lounge chairs in walnut.
The catalogs make a distinction between Teak, Walnut, and "Saddle". Saddle is presumed to be the brown finish on Beech. I expect it was much less expensive in the Selig Import catalog, which may have made it more common, but maybe more American buyers felt that a varnished finish was more to their liking.
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