Came across a "magic box" foldout desk in a cabinet today and thought I'd share some of my research since there's a lot of conflicting info online. These desks appear to be modern versions of the Wooton desk, introduced by the Wooton Desk Company of Indianapolis in 1874. Mummenthaler and Meier, Swiss architects and designers, designed a modern version in 1928. Listings for their version mostly say they were made in 1950's and 1960's and list Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, and the UK as countries of manufacture. None appeared to be marked or tagged to confirm. The version shown in the first photo with the pull out wood lamp seems to be their original design.
Another version, shown in second photo, has a blue metal lamp. One listing of this style showed it with a "Made in Norway" stamp and some attribute this version to Leif Elvestad.
A third version, which is the one I came across today, has teak veneers over particle board and no lamp. It looks Scandinavian but has a "Made in Taiwan, Republic of China" sticker on the back. I found two others online with Taiwan labels, one with a makers label for John's Fine Furniture of Taichung Taiwan. Most listings for this version, which I'd guess are from the 70's, say they are from Denmark. But with no marks or labels, I would bet all are from Taiwan.
Anyone have any additional info on these desks?
Thanks @lexi I see it has the little metal lamp, which supports what I've found - that this version was produced in Norway. Here's a shot of one showing a "Made in Norway" stamp along with an "SK".
@mark737.Maybe you could contact the poster in the link below who claims to have sold one of these pieces with a "Leif Elvestad" signature but does not show an image of same!!! 🤔
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@lexi - Interesting, seems there were several versions made in different countries. Curious who made the version with the wood lamp.
@mark737; I have viewed so many of these "magic" boxes I have gone googly eyed and none of the ones with the wooden light show any labels. 😒
I will keep looking.At this point in time I would consider the German company to be a strong contender. The image I shared seems to be missing the lamp,there is a space there for it, and some shelves. Maybe the light was an option?
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@lexi LOL, yeah I think I've looked at 95% of the magic boxes ever made. I suppose Stranghoner is as likely as any other, though it's odd none of the others has a label.
On a side note, Stranghoner is on lists of companies that used concentration camp labor during WW2. There's not much of a record of them online. Seems like maybe they went our of business or changed names.
@mark737; The French version: produced by Atelier Genestar, Paris.No labels on the furniture but did find a vintage advert. All images I have seen ,of the French production, show the wooden light. Otherwise very similar to the German version.
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@lexi Thanks for hunting this down. So maybe all the versions with the wooden lights are from Genestar. Would make sense if they didn't stamp or label their pieces. Interesting that the only sites that attribute this version to them are French. Most English language sites say this version was produced in Switzerland but I haven't seen any evidence of that.
@mark737. Found this bar cabinet with fridge on a facebook page in Norway. Image of label on the back. Same company as the Norwegian advert I shared previously.
I have tried to add all of the images in the same post but the site is having a "moment".Very annoying
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@mark737.. All of this info could be completely unconnected but thought I would share . 🤔
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