Hello all! New member here from Washington State and I have two egg style chairs my wife rescued from a thrift store that was sending them to the dumpster. The upholstery has been stripped off (obviously) but I've done extensive reading and I can't decide if these are authentic egg chairs .All measurements are right, overall height etc. No markings on base and no tilt handle but the mechanism is there. If someone could give me some input from these pictures I would appreciate it. If I need better pictures or pictures of a specific area let me know. Thanks, Kevin
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Well, the chair in photo #2 looks like it has a fluted post and I'm pretty sure this is never found on fake Egg chairs. Also, the foam looks like it's latex just judging from the photos. I mean the seat cushion foam--there's something about the way latex looks that's just different from urethane foam. It looks very smooth on the surface but on the torn parts you can see the texture. This is what happens when latex foam is injection molded, or whatever that process is called.
I'm pretty sure that newer knockoffs do not have any latex foam on them anywhere. Latex is pricey and knockoffs cut a LOT or corners.
I have an early Swan chair with the fluted post and a tilt mechanism. It doesn't have a lever either but from what I understand, the lever was just something inserted into a hole to adust the tilt, not something that was permanently attached. Or something like that. I don't know if the Egg chairs were different in this regard.
What else do you need help with? Based on the few photos you posted and your description of the foam, it seems pretty certain that these are legit.
Most conventional upholsterers will probably have little or no experience upholstering curved furniture where both the foam and the fabric have to be glued down. You may have to ship them to an upholsterer who specializes in this stuff. That, of course, would cut into your profit a bit but it's better to get it done well and get top dollar than have amateurish work that diminishes the value.
Surely there are other MCM dealers in Seattle who would know of an upholsterer who can do Egg chairs well?
I agree that they need to be done right and I want to be sure they are authentic before putting out the time and money. I am a couple of hours North of Seattle and I am still looking for the right person/connection to verify and then start the search for an upholsterer that can do it correctly. MCM? Thanks, Kevin
Could you take a close-up photo of the bottom of the base? My Swan chair is marked Fritz Hansen, for instance. I don't know if all the Egg chairs are market that way or not. Even if your chair has no name on it, the configuration in general might match.
A photo of the ends of the star base would help, too. Can you pull the cover off the tilt mechanism? I can tell you if it's the same as the one in my early Swan chair.
You can also try sending photos to Fritz Hansen and ask them if they can verify manufacture. I don't *think* that anyone else besides them is authorized to make these chairs. Could be wrong about that, though.
From your photos I do not think these are authentic Fritz Hansen egg chairs. I say this for a number of reasons:
1. They are not marked. Every later production chair I've seen with the two part base was also mold marked on the underside of the base.
2. The central post of the base looks like polished chrome compared to what appears to be an aluminum four star base. I believe that the Fritz Hansen chairs with two part bases had a central post of aluminum which matched the rest of the base.
3. There is cardboard on the underside of your chair. I've seen many egg chairs stripped of their upholstery and I've never seen one with any cardboard attached anywhere.
4. There are a number of details which do not look like they match Fritz Hansen in terms of build quality. The plastic foot glides look thin and unsubstantial (I've never seen a real one that was ill fitted or had gaps) the tilt mechanism does not look terribly substantial, etc..
5. The overall shape and curves of the chair. If you look at the body of your chairs, the curves do not look as deep to me as authentic egg chairs, particularly in the area below the “wings” where it comes down to the armrest. Those do not look as deep and shapely to me as they should be. Authentic egg chairs (particularly earlier production chairs have very shapely curves.
Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear, but I thought I should share what knowledge and experience I have. If they were real, they would be well worth the expense of reupholstering (which can be considerable due to the large amount of hand work involved. It takes 1,000 hand stitches to make the seam around the edges. Twice that if you upholster it in leather with a welt cord as it’s supposed to be done). If they are not, you will have to look at the cost and make that decision for yourself.
After seeing those additional photos, I'd have to agree with Pegboard. I'll attach photos that I took awhile back of my Swan chair with tilt mechanism. You can see the part where the lever attaches is very different. And of course the bottom of the base is clearly marked. I think the end of the post where it's visible on the underside of the base has a different configuration (??) than yours, too, though yours isn't super clear in the photo. (Excuse the red circle in that one photo of mine--that was for another discussion here.)
Hi
Found this chair on Deconet - it looks like Arne Jacobsen when looking at your pics. (FH) stands for Fritz Hansen - designer Jacobsen.
http://www.deconet.com/decopedia/template/seating/chaises-lounge/The-Egg...
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