Below is a George Nelson table and chair set produced by Arbuck - with original glass top.
I'm hoping to get info on chairs for this set (were there several options?) and anything I about Arbuck and their manufacturing - was it made 1951? How long was Arbuck in business? How rare/common are their pieces? etc...
I know the chairs below are original to the table, but I've found other chairs sold with this table attributed to Nelson too. (the other chairs I saw paired with this table, at Rago auctions, were "c" shaped, curved chairs. I didn't think they matched as well with the table as the ones pictured below.)
I found a post on here mentioning Arbuck (I think in relation to McCobb designs) and one of the posters on here (Straylight) mentioned he had some original materials on the Arbuck production lines - so I'm hoping he will see this and share with me some of his hard won info. (Edit: Straylight was kind enough to post and let me know most of his Arbuck material was for McCobb designs and didn't have any Arbuck/Nelson materials referencing my table and chairs.)
(Originally in this post I had questions about original seats for the chairs, but manged to confirm my seats are authentic to the piece so I'm no longer trying to figure that issue out and I cut out some of my babbling.)
-Maria
While I'm at it...
Figure while on the subject of midcentury iron pieces I might as well see if anyone recognizes this piece. I've had it for years, never seen anything else like it - that piece of ceramic at the top is original to it. (I've seen plenty of the wire planters, circle frame with square cross shelves, around but this is wrought iron and quite different, more sturdy, heavy materials)
Anyone ever seen one or know anything about it? It actually matches my table and chairs above remarkable well, to the point I wonder if it might have been manufactured by Arbuck? But I won't hold my breath on that - just would like to find out something about it.
-Maria
Straylight????
I wish there was a way to PM posters on this forum. I found a post on here - I believe by Straylight mentioning he had some period brochures (or some kind of info.) about Arbuck production -- maybe in relation to McCobb designs?
Anyway I was just hoping he would see this thread and maybe share some of his info. or could just confirm the table set/chair options by checking to see if its included with the materials he has.
I'm not too proud to beg.
- Maria
Don't know if you were replyi...
Don't know if you were replying to me or Honus - but just in case I did read that thread closely (and any other DA threads mentioning Arbuck) before posting. Since the thread was old and only focused on the tables - side and coffee - I decided to start a new thread on the dining table and most importantly the chairs. However that other thread does show the photo of the other chairs I mentioned being matched with the table as a set.
When I look at my chairs, there is no question they were made to match the table. The back of the chair mirrors the underside of the table. The other chairs in the Rago auction are attributed to Nelson but I just wonder if they were made to go with the table too
Hopefully someone with the old brochures can solve this.
Re: to lunchbox
It's the exact same table from the Rago auction cited by Pegboard, its only the chairs that differ - that's what I'm trying to get more info on and the point of my post here. The chairs obviously match the table and were designed to go with it. I think the chairs in my photo are a closer match (design wise) than the chairs pictured in the Rago auction. They mirror the table design and were bought as a set by the original owner.
I read the previous thread - pegboard questioned the coffee / side tables being a Nelson design - not the table/ chair set. There is no question Nelson designed a table, chairs and a coffee table for Arbuck.
"The Vitra book on Nelson says that the pieces consisted of a table, chairs and coffee table. There is no mention of any step end tables"
-from the post by Pegboard in previous thread
Further in the previous thread a few people posted some other websites attributing the side/step tables to Nelson as well, but I'm not sure how strong the citations were. They certainly look like they were designed to go with the line - and because the line was only produced for a short time and wasn't a big seller - I have a hard time believing people were trying to steal and knock off poor selling designs 50 years ago.
This is why I'm looking for org material from Arbuck - to see what chairs they offered with the table and a good reference for it. I've found two other dealers, with the same table and the chairs in my photo, confirming Nelson as the designer of the set, but I would like further info.
EDIT:
Here is a link to a dealer on 1st dibs selling the same chairs and table as Nelson designed - only totally redone with a white powder coat. http://marshgardendecor.com/cgi-bin/ccp51/cp-app.cgi?usr=51F75180&rnd=29...
- Maria
http://marshgardendecor.com/cgi-bin/ccp51/cp-app.cgi?usr=51F75180&rnd=29...
Limited information
My Arbuck materials are all directly related to Paul McCobb's Pavilion Collection. I only have a smattering of historical information on Nelson's Arbuck production which I have clipped haphazardly along the way. What I do have does not illustrate your chairs (or for that matter the table either) so I am afraid that I really can't be much help here.
Sorry, not my table!
Hmmmmmm
For what it's worth I am starting to seriously question the George Nelson table attribution. I have a fair amount of reference for the Arbuck production as it turns out and none of it resembles this dining table in the slightest, nor the other tables commonly attributed. We need to ask where exactly is this attribution coming from and how authoritative is the original source?
Is this another Ann Kerr happening here?
George Nelson
We have to remember where designers got their starts, they often did not start with the dramatic items we know them for today.
Remember where Eames and Knoll started - take a look at their first pieces.
As for George, it is known he had designers produce for him and he allowed the market to associate the name of the company with he himself. When he worked for Arbuck briefly, that was George's own designs.
Know who Harper is?
It is important to see all the pieces the designers did and this shows their evolution as designers.
If Knoll had stuck with her 1947 editions before the more grander items, or if Eames had remained with their first chair (before LCW) I doubt that you would know them today as well as you do.
I hope you get my point that George didn't design everything that came out of the company "George Nelson" and he and all other designers had pieces they started with that did not make them famous.
Appreciate they too, evolved, and had a ways to come.
The issue of this table and chair is being resolved by an auction house that has done research and knows George's work for Arbuck.
- A.S.
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