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Johs Aasbjerg - Exc...
 

Johs Aasbjerg - Excellent Furniture Co Catalog, 1960, 90 pages complete  

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jesgord
(@jesgord)
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30/10/2013 3:57 pm  

Leif, I have one of these...
Leif, I have one of these catalogs as well-not sure of the year but will check when I get home. As with yours, mine does not identify designer's names-did you research designers independently or was there some sort of insert in your catalog?


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leif ericson - Zephyr Renner
(@leif-ericson)
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30/10/2013 4:50 pm  

Wow!How did you come...
Wow!
How did you come across one of them? They are beyond rare.
None of the designers are named. Each design has a few letters that identifies the maker. Usually it is the maker's initials. And the maker's model number. For instance page one is the Papa Bear chair labeled AP/19
The one exception to this is that there are quite a few designs marked with V. Many of them are less well known (some are Møller, which are easy). I suspect that V was a danish furniture wholesaler.
I would really love to see the catalog. I know that there are a substantial number of Aasbjerg designs that aren't in the 1960 catalog, as I have seen them personally, and some of the traits of Aasbjerg's handiwork are so obvious you know you are seeing an Aasbjerg.
Also, I am now reasonably sure he was working into the early seventies, so there is plenty of time for the catalog to have developed.
You can contact me directly, if you so wish at *redacted*.


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jesgord
(@jesgord)
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30/10/2013 5:13 pm  

Leif-Catalog was purchased on...
Leif-Catalog was purchased on ebay a couple years ago and stored away in my library. Will take a closer look when I get home tonight and let you know year etc. I completely forgot I had it-but was looking through catalogs trying to find a solid attribution for the Ib Kofod-Larsen for Christensen & Larsen chair from another thread. Its not one of the usual resources I look at because of the lack of designer's names.


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jesgord
(@jesgord)
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31/10/2013 2:48 am  

Leif, My catalog does not...
Leif, My catalog does not have a year and is bound differently from yours. The first 7-10 pages are nearly identical (even the same pictures and item numbers) but then the catalog diverges a bit. When I have a chance, I will check if there are any Aasbjerg pieces that are not in your catalog. I take it, these are all labled with an EX code? A couple quickly taken pics below.


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jesgord
(@jesgord)
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31/10/2013 4:00 am  

Leif, these are the only two...
Leif, these are the only two "ex" pieces in my catalog that I did not see in yours.


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leif ericson - Zephyr Renner
(@leif-ericson)
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31/10/2013 6:27 am  

Fascinating.
The binding...
Fascinating.
The binding means nothing. It isn't original.
I've seen that upper coffee table somewhere. And the lower coffee table has new feet I've never seen on his stuff before (never seen it before).
In my catalog, the case pieces at the end have finger jointed legs, but the earlier ones have tapering dowel legs. I have never seen one of the finger jointed leg specimens, but I've seen the same models with dowel legs. And they were a new introduction to the line in 1960. So I suspect they were a short lived idea. Are they in your catalog?
Is a sideboard model 246 in your catalog? It looks just like model 236 only in solid teak with dovetails on the corners. So it would be easy to miss. #246 would date your catalog later than mine (it was produced in 1964) The absence would likely date it before mine.


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jesgord
(@jesgord)
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31/10/2013 2:42 pm  

The only ex case goods in my ...
The only ex case goods in my catalog are ex/233(No. 67) ex/243, 243A, 244 and 244A(No. 68). Also prices in my catalog are slightly lower. No 1 (ap/19) is $148 in your catalog $138 in mine. ap/29 $30 vs. $26, etc. Based on this, I think my catalog is perhaps a year or two older?


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leif ericson - Zephyr Renner
(@leif-ericson)
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31/10/2013 3:02 pm  

Yes. I think yours is likely...
Yes. I think yours is likely earlier.
And mine does not have 243/243a or 244/244a. Those models are new to public knowledge. Snappy?


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jesgord
(@jesgord)
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31/10/2013 3:27 pm  

Here you go. I thought this...
Here you go. I thought this was in your catalog, perhaps with a different number?


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leif ericson - Zephyr Renner
(@leif-ericson)
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31/10/2013 3:55 pm  

Nope not in there. There are...
Nope not in there. There are a few similar case pieces, but not that. Checked thrice.
And I've never seen those handles on an Aasbjerg piece before. The snappy is blurry, but they remind me of Hvidt & Mølgaard. maybe a clearer shot would show the differences.
The gamut of his design choices consistently surprises me. For example, many designers can be identified by their drawer handles (e.g. Vodder, Hvidt & Mølgaard, Nils Jonsson, Aksel Kjersgaard), but Aasbjerg uses at least three main styles. The same for legs. A Mogensen case piece has specific legs. Aasbjerg has at least three or four known styles. He was very eclectic as a designer.
Is there any indication in the catalog that the pieces are solid teak? One thing that jumped out at me about the 1960 catalog was that some of the case pieces, like 233, the room divider, were veneer. And it gives the appearance that the solid teak idea was new to the line that year. If your catalog has all veneer Aasbjerg designs it would strengthen the suspicion that it is an earlier catalog.
You could narrow the early side of the publish date window by cross referencing other known designs' design year.
Are there V annotated designs in this catalog? It is such an odd feature of the 1960 catalog.


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jesgord
(@jesgord)
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01/11/2013 1:41 am  

Will try to get a better pic...
Will try to get a better pic for you. Was in a rush t his morning to get the kids out the door and off to school/
My catalog has no mention of solid teak or teak veneer. What I can do though, is cross reference the pieces that are in both catalogs and see if any of them are solid teak construction. I can remember off the top of my head that thr room divider and beds (which are both veneer) are in my catalog
Lastly, yes there are many "V" designs is my catalog as well. Your guess as to meaning is as good as mine.


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leif ericson - Zephyr Renner
(@leif-ericson)
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02/11/2013 11:43 pm  

Another specimen: Model 236, ...
Another specimen: Model 236, sideboard with the flippable colored sliding doors (colored one side, teak on the other). Case done in teak veneer.


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Richard Tanimura
(@redo-richardgmail-com)
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03/11/2013 12:25 pm  

Leif, Thanks for generously sharing
Very interestng reading. I was surprised to find that Hovmand-Olsen designed som N.O. Møller produced thiings. Nice to know.
Gentofte is close to CPH. I wonder if there is anything left of the shop.


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onno
 onno
(@onno)
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03/11/2013 12:32 pm  

.
The info that Hovmand-Olsen has designed some Møller products is to treat with caution.
J.L. Møller couldn't confirm this.


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leif ericson - Zephyr Renner
(@leif-ericson)
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03/11/2013 12:55 pm  

The address to the shop or...
The address to the shop or showroom was 55 Gentoftegade. In jesgord's likely older catalog it was 41-44 Gentoftegade. I would love to know if there is any evidence of the shop or showroom remaining. Google thinks 55 is a dentist's office if I remember right. Unfortunately I am a very long way from Gentofte, so it isn't so easy to go look.
If I spoke danish I could probably learn a lot from visiting a local pub.
I imagine there is some evidence of the company in tax records and such which would be interesting, because it seems likely that the name "Excllent Furniture Company" was designed to make English speakers more comfortable, and I speculate that there is a Danish language legal name to the company. Strictly speculation of course.


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