Not everything is as it is seems. Some designs are described as “in-house” designs. Of course, that doesn’t mean they magically appear on the factory floor one day; someone had to draft them too, so the craftsmen would know what to make. The standard assumption is that this draftsperson is not a designer to be advertised, and certainly not a designer with a name that could be worth advertising. I am going to challenge that notion directly in this thread. The conclusion I propose is that what “in-house” design means—at least sometimes in the Danish furniture industry—related not to the actual creative process, the drafting of a design, but to the contractual, financial, and advertising context of the design. Let us also get this clear from the outset: I do not consider this license to invent design credits for “in-house” designs. Documentation is needed, but I believe that in at least some cases this documentation does exist.
Yet here is a Mobilia page from 1967, courtesy of Jesgord on this forum, crediting the design to none other than Finn Juhl. Given the stature of Mobilia, and the great number of design credits that are documented by Mobilia, this is strong proof that Finn Juhl is the secret “in-house” designer of Jupiter.
France and Søn Great Dane Groups, models 127 & 128 and 167 & 168
This is the example that is near and dear to my heart. Simon (of the Danish-Homestore) has reported on this forum James France’s statement that the Great Dane series was “in-house” ( http://www.designaddict.com/forum/Identification/Grete-Jalk-or-Finn-Juhl). And here is the France and Søn catalog showing the design uncredited, or “in-house”.
(Great Dane Group models 127 and 128)
However, it appears that this is not the whole story. This catalog from Ønskebo that was an authorized France and Søn representative, which I believe to be slightly later than the France and Søn and Povl Dinesen catalogs, credits the design of 167 & 168 to Grete Jalk. (Note: look below for a couple of France and Søn advertisements with Ønskebo’s name outlined to prove it was an authorized representative of France and Søn)
And then there is this entry on the Danish Furniture Index, crediting the design of 128 to Grete Jalk, and note that the verification source is Grete Jalk herself via mail.
https://aleph-01.kb.dk/F/XK7XQAY86X82HSBDN9GL3RE3BJEB28NQFKF9S5PHBTNV819M5G-29162?func=full-set-set&set_number=076499&set_entry=000002&format=999
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