Hi all,
Just picked a pair of Glostrup Mobelfabrik armless easy chairs. They are marked with a sticker and based on the fact that mobelfakta was founded in 1972, I guess they date from the 70s.
I haven't been able to find anything about them in the internet excepted that they are an armless variation of the well known Glostrup easy clair that is often attributed to Jalk. Actually, it is basically just the same chair but with no arms.
I have become extremely suspicious about dealers attributions if I cannot cross check them with a non-profit source (furniture index, books, etc). Can anyone tell me if they indeed could be from Jalk?
I have noticed a small brass part (sorry, I have no idea how it is called) that I already saw on a Glostrup coffee table which attribution to Jalk is well documented (see picture).
Any help is most welcome ! Many thanks in advance.
<img class="wpforo-default-image-attachment
Hi Leif. Thanks a lot for your help.
Actually, I thought it might be an in house design, so it is nice to have at least a name even if there is nothing much about Svend Aage Eriksen on the Internet. It also appears that the Glostrup surf board coffee table with upturned lips is Eriksen's.
I am still curious about these chairs as I cannot find other exemples of this model. Do you happen to have the GM 1962 catalogue? I am curious to know if my chairs are contemporary of the GM5 or are a later variation.
I think they will look fantastic once reupholstered and I got them for a good price. Regardless of who the actual designer of these chairs is, I am pretty happy with my purchase.
I don't have the catalog. That page is courtesy of Simon here. Maybe he can tell you more.
Sometime when an unknown name like Svend Aage Eriksen shows up, it turns out it is the owner of the company, and sometimes the design credit on designs credited to the company owner are not so simple as they seem. I don't know anything about Monsieur Svend Aage Eriksen, so I will not speculate.
Where have you come across the information about the coffee table?
http://www.lauritz.com/en/auction/svend-aage-eriksen-et-par-sofaborde-mo...
I know Lauritz is not a reliable source where it comes to attributions but there is source mentioned here (GM katalog 1962) and the seller is actually losing money attributing his tables to Monsieur Eriksen rather than to Madame Jalk...
The same seller has some GM armchairs attributed to Eriksen (same source to support the attribution, 1962 catalog).
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Glostrup Møbelfabrik was owned by one E.F. Andersson. (Odd his name is spelt in Swedish fashion, but perhaps he was Swedish....)
I would say this suggests that the design is NOT "in-house." and can be credited to Svend Åge Eriksen without the complexity of "in-house" design accreditation.
It is also interresting to note that 2 Grete Jalk designs for Glostrup are listed in the furniture index: 2 surfboard coffee tables. Both attributions are solely based on Bruun & Rasmussen auctions and not verified. The attribution of Jalk's pieces for Jeppesen are all based on more solid sources AND verified by Jalk herself.
For obvious reasons, I tend to believe the Lauritz attribution for the coffee table.
So, it turns out that two of the most famous pieces produced by Glostrup are not designed by Jalk as everybody thinks but by the mysterious Svend Aage Eriksen.
Did Jalk actually design anything for Glostrup???
I would NOT trust the Lauritz listing. Even though it suggests they have a catalog, I still would not trust them to be able to read it. Seriously. I've seen Lauritz not be able to recognize the difference between a Grete Jalk chairs for France and Søn and for P. Jeppesen, and quote the catalog of one as the design credit for the other.
Lauritz should never be taken as more than a suggestion, one that quite possibly can be wrong. Regardless Lauritz requires verification.
Bruun-Rasmussen is not my favorite sort of design credit, but I do actually believe what they say. I believe most people in the know would agree. And Bruun-Rasmussen says that coffee table is Jalk:
http://www.bruun-rasmussen.dk/search.do?mode=detail&iid=300486261
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