A WTH is this? thread  

In The words Of The Jetsons Dog - Ahl Righ Rasroh Thras Rool!
far out man!

Eros Chair
Another reason Phillipe Starck should stop 'designing' things.

I'm on it.
Outbid me and you die.

I'll play. WTH is this?
It's on ebay. The only title is "Retro Chair". A lister of few words.
The picture didn't show. I'll try it again.

Tree
I can't wait to see how many replies come in regarding the sad Charlie Brown tree in the background.

Oh, I know! I know!
That is the Speedo Chair by Italian designer Gianni Sacchetto di Frutta, shown below.

oh god Spanky, you made me laugh and it's too early for that
jeez that was funny!

I have another one
It's not so much a WTH is this, but a W(hy)TH design?
Is that white thing an ash tray? Is it so that the smoke gets diffused and has to go around the edges before rising? Maybe it makes a neat effect. But I bet the underside of that glass has to be washed really often.
Just a really odd design, imho
Or, maybe it's a candy dish and you get to laugh at your guests as they bang their hands into the glass reaching for it?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Craft-Associates-TONK-Haegar-Coffee-and-lamp-tables_...

Supposedly it's Gio Ponti
Someone on eBay posted this excerpt from Millers:

Heh, so the ashtray was an uninspired addition?
Whew, I'd not like to be poking fun at a Ponti design!
Is there an ebay discussion about this? Where would that be?

Looks like an ashtray to me
and not just an ashtray, but an astray for NINE PEOPLE.
It looks like it was made for the table. Could be that the table is a knockoff of the Ponti one with the added improvement of a 9-smoker ashtray.

Dashes, it's a
completed auction for a table almost, but not exactly the same at the one in the Miller's book.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Early-Gio-Ponti-Wishbone-Walnut-Coffee-Cocktail-Tabl...

If that Marlboro package is...
If that Marlboro package is real, those slots would be better suited for cigars. Hmm, a cigar table. Now that would be pretty cool.

doubt it
I've owned that table before and besides the ashtray being made by Haeger, it definitely did not have the quality in wood or construction that one would identify with nicer Italian design. It's definitely an American piece