Time to start another thread on an obscure topic which probably nobody else cares about:
There are quite a few Kofod Larsen "bucket" or "shell" chairs out there, many of which are legit variations by KL for different manufacturers.
The most famous (if not first) one is the Elizabeth chair, first made by the cabinetmaker, Christensen & Larsen, in 1956. OPE made the Seal chair out of Sweden, and Selig contracted a few shell variations for the American market.
I have come across four listings for a variation of the Elisabeth chair, two of which are marked "Made in Germany", and a third being in an auction in Germany. There are design differences from the C&L chair of: 1) shell shape/proportions, 2) seat support (straps vs spring loops), and 3) the height of the shell sides under the armrests (low for C&L, higher for German). The frame looks more similar to the original, with the armrests tapering to almost a razor edge on the outsides.
Photos are attached: the first being the original C&L, and the last four being the "German" listings. Three of the four listings call out Christensen & Larsen as being the manufacturer, including one with a "Made in Germany" mark. Bruun-Rasmussen is one of the listings attributing C&L as the manufacturer, but does not mention any marks.
http://www.bruun-rasmussen.dk/sold-items.do?iid=300681051&did=1004258&lang=en&mode=detail
The obvious conclusion is that the "Made in Germany" chairs are made in Germany by a German manufacturer, and that all of the C&L attributions for this chair variation are wrong. If so, does anyone know who that manufacturer might be? Is there any possibility that C&L contracted this chair variation from a German manufacturer or set up a shop in Germany? If not, then there are some people out there paying a decent amount of money for a chair attributed incorrectly.
<img class="wpforo-defaul
I would think it quite implausible that Christiansen and Larsen, as Danish cabinet makers, would contract out production to anyone, let alone Germans.
If it were proposed that Kofod Larsen might have drawn a design for some German company, it would be a complete speculation, but he did draw for G-Plan in England, so he was not against working with shops outside Denmark.
But really, I would assume they are knock-offs until proven unless proven otherwise, notwithstanding Bruun-Rasmussen's endorsement. And suckers are being taken for their money.
Now there are Fritz Hansen made chairs that look very much like "Elizabeth Variants". It would be much harder to dismiss them as illegimitimate outright.
Wright also sold a settee version with a C&L and Denmark attribution, based off only the Oda Danish Chairs book (calling it a variation). I checked my copy last night and only the original design is in the book.
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/6871974_ib-kofod-larsen-elizabeth-s...
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