Hi Design Addict Community,
I found this website 13 years ago when I bought a small house in Chicago and was trying to find some information on a Bernhard Pedersen and Son credenza I had just bought for the new place. Here is the specific thread by the way:
https://designaddict.com/community/main-forum/Anyone-know-Danish-company-BPS-M14567/
Through this website, I ended up meeting posters such as leif ericson (Zephyr Renner), tchp (Thomas Penrose), and jesgord (Jesse Gordon). Through reading and posting on this site over the years, I learned a significant amount about Danish Modern history and furniture design than I would have otherwise.
Fast forward to a few years ago, a watercolor of a Finn Juhl Chieftain Chair came up up auction in Chicago (my hometown) during the summer of 2021. My wife and I ended up winning this auction lot, and that watercolor spurred me to start writing a short article about the importance of that watercolor. That article quickly turned into a book format, and last fall, I reached an agreement with ORO Editions to published that book.
It was a hectic 3 months from Nov '23 to Jan '24 to turn a manuscript story with separate images into a 352pg integrated design book. Somehow we got it done, and it is ready to go to press as I type. Due to long lead times in the book publishing industry, Lost Danish Treasure will not be in bookstores until Sep 1, 24. However, we did get a smaller number of advance proof copies digitally printed and hand bound in time for Milan Design Week next week. I'll be giving a short talk on the subject at a local gallery then.
Today, House of Finn Juhl announced a limited edition Chieftain Chair, in smoked oak, that will be offered this year to commemorate the 75th anniversary (designed in 1949). Each limited edition chair, in smoked oak, will come with a signed copy of the book and a hi-res print of the Chieftain watercolor. The last time this watercolor was displayed was in the 1950 Finn Juhl Exhibition in Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen. Shortly thereafter, it was separated from its 5 other watercolor siblings from the 1949 Guild Exhibition, and stayed out of the the public realm until the 2021 auction.
Lost Danish Treasure tells the complete history of the Chieftain Chair for the first time, including detailed analysis of all of the known guild exhibition watercolors in the 10 years leading up to the 1949 Copenhagen Cabinetmakers' Guild Exhibition, arguably the peak of Danish Modern design. The book also has an alternate modern-day storyline that focuses on how contemporary research (including content from Design Addict) has helped fill in gaps in the historical record, including a surprise revelation about where the very first Chieftain Chair ever made is located. I'm looking forward to the rest of the year to see where this goes. I'll post updates here as they develop.
P.S. I was never very good at creating elusive online usernames, so the book cover photo below reveals that my name is Carl D'Silva. Zephyr figured that out years ago with a little googling, which ended up being the butterfly flapping its wings act that resulted in this book being written.
Very exciting - congrats, Carl! I see that Oro Editions is taking pre-orders. Is that the best way to buy it? Will there be a way to get a signed copy?
Thanks both.
Mark, for anyone interested in the book, ORO is giving a 30% discount to all advance orders placed through their website before June 30th. In the cart checkout on their website, use the coupon code "lost30", and it will deduct 30% off the price. I do not want to place a link here, but it should be easy to find in a search. As an additional bonus, I think the pre-orders get shipped out earlier than waiting for them to arrive in bookstores on Sep 1st.
I have also ordered a number of copies for myself and plan on offering those to friends and colleagues for the same 30% discount. I'm happy to sign any books, but will not have access to the pre-order stock at ORO.
Having spent a career working alongside museum curators, conservators and art historians, I have a slight inkling of the enormous efforts involved in producing a publication like yours. Sincere congratulations offered!
How would one go about acquiring an inscribed copy (if and/or when such becomes available)?
Many thanks,
-TK
Edit: I must've started typing my response before you replied with ordering info. Apologies for redundancy.
It appears that your rendering is on a laid paper mounted on board. Have you had it evaluated by an accredited paper conservator? And is it by FJ's own hand?
Please pardon my curiosity. Recently retired and having trouble putting away my museum hat.
Nice eye, tk. The watercolor paper is indeed mounted on a backer board. Research and firsthand observation done before the watercolor was bought confirmed that the board was originally mounted for the 1949 competition (and not in the US afterwards), along with the other 5 watercolors from that year. It is also the same paper/board used for the 1948 watercolors. I have not had either paper or board analyzed, but any acid issues would be present in the other 11 boards from 48-49, and probably others.
Based on historical information and unofficial handwriting/painting comparisons, I believe 1949 was the last year that Juhl drew, annotated, and painted the guild competition watercolors himself. One of his former students, Marianne Riis Carstensen, starting watercoloring for him in 1950, after the UN and Baker commissions had been won.
Hi Carl, congrats on your book again as we spoke earlier about it on Insta. It's really very exciting to see it being released. Such an effort, man. And such a good story.
Do you maybe plan to be in Copenhagen for the Three Days of Design in June? Would be an appropriate event to present the book. And: We could have a chat. 🙂
"People buy a chair, and they don't really care who designed it." (Arne Jacobsen)
Thx for response and closeup images. There's a lot to love about the drawing (gonna try to be careful with my terminology here) but training always puts my primary concern on preservation.
If mine, I'd definitely have a paper conservator do an initial condition report including treatment and storage/framing recommendations. You've already had good photos taken, so shouldn't cost much and it's always good to have this information documented.
Congrats again and thanks for taking the time to share. Fascinating stuff!
P.S. Did Finn Juhl ever design a picture frame?
@herringbone - yes, we have already booked our plane tickets in June for 3 Days of Design. Although not planned yet, I hope to do a similar talk as Milan. Those are probably the only Europe events for this year, but I've got a few irons in the fire for US talks this fall after the book is released. I would definitely like to meet up during 3 Days, and would invite any interested DA members nearby to the talk, should it be realized.
@tktoo - you are of course, correct. We should have a conservator examine the board. Right now, it is unframed, boxed, and in a climate controlled secured storage. The primary concern would be understanding any longterm effects of old Danish watercolor paper adhered to old Danish backer board, with old Danish adhesive.
Wow, that's impressive, @cdsilva can you share a link where to order? I would love to have one. And do they send to Germany?
Keeping with the non-commercial customs of this forum, I'd rather not post a direct link. Having said that, there is a whole chapter early in the book focused on the history of the Design Addict forum, so maybe the link would be more of a website promotion, than commercial solicitation? 🙂
Luckily there are no other "Lost Danish Treasure" titles of other kinds on the interwebs, so searching this (along with ORO Editions if needed) should turn up the link fairly quickly. There is another step once the book is in the cart to manually add the coupon code "lost30" to get the discount before June 30th.
ORO is planning on bookstore distribution in North America, Europe, and East Asia. My guess is that they would ship pre-order books from the closest global distribution center to the destination, but I haven't confirmed that with them yet. I am also hopeful that a few modern design museums around the world will be interested in carrying it in their gift shops.
This book is unaffiliated with the Watercolors by Finn Juhl book, which was compiled by Anne Louise Sommer, the executive director of the Designmuseum Danmark. I believe that book is now sold out, but am unaware if they are planning for a 2nd printing with updates. They were very helpful in allowing me access to the library and archives during the research effort for the book. That book itself was a key part of the research, as it was the first time many of Juhl’s watercolors were made available to the public. Without it, we would probably not have realized the Chieftain watercolor in the auction was the original one.
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