Mobelfabrikken Toften  

Not sure if there are any online resources out there for Toften, but here is some info. It was a factory based in Randers, and at some point was a supplier for the brand Interform Collection. E.W.  Bach did some designs for them.

I believe they were most active during the 60’s and 70’s.

I could not find much info about them online.  One item said they started in 1946 in Randers.  The DFI only has 3 entries, all designed by E.W. Bach in the early 60's.

These tables show a different "Toften" mark and tag.  The sellers attribute these and others in similar styles to Arne Hovmand-Olsen.  Is there any evidence these are by Hovmand-Olsen, or are they attributed to him because of the similarity to his table for Mogens Kold?  

@mark737 Toften was founded in 1946 by Knud Volmer Nielsen and Viggo Jensen in Randers. They specialized in sofa tables and were active at least well into the 70s. I have no idea about models or anything. What I find interesting - and what nobody else will - is that both founders changed their names sometime in the 50s/60s to Knud Volmer Munk and Viggo Neergard. If you ever do research on Danes, you should be aware of the fact that people liked to get rid of their generic Hansen/Jensen/Nielsen/Olsen names and that it was an easy thing to do. The government even encouraged them.  

@herringbone  As someone with a strange German surname, I've always had an interest in name origins.  I wonder how they decided on their new names.  Maybe Knud joined a monastery and Viggo lived below a farm?  Or did people tend to adopt names of other relatives? 

@mark737 That's an interesting question, and I assume that scholars have written about it extensively. What I can tell you is that for instance Erling Torvits' name was Jorgensen. When his career took off, he chose Torvits for marketing reasons. It was a unique name in Denmark. Same goes for Kjaernulf. Henry Kjaernulf was born into a Rasmussen family. At the time of his birth in 1911 there was a first wave of people chosing new family names for themselves and/or their children. His parents decided that they would stay with Rasmussen but that all their children should get the surname Kjarulff. Kjarulff was much rarer than Rasmussen but still a common name. When Henry had is own design studio in the 50s, he changed his name again and chose the unique name Kjaernulf. Another interesting case was the founder of Haslev Mobelsnedkeri, Henry Aunbirk. He was born Jensen, but when he started his business (along with Knud Windahl), he found out that there was another company called Henry Jensen. So he quickly changed his name and became Henry Aunbirk. But HOW he made that choice, I can't tell. 

What's your strange German surname if you don't mind to tell? And is it strange at all (for a German like me)?

@herringbone Very interesting.  And easy to see how a rare name would be a benefit in a business like design. 

My surname is the same as the family that runs this brewery in Baden-Württemberg.  My father's ancestors emigrated to the US in 1857 from the town of Mötzingen in BW.  Growing up, we lived in the Nürnberg area for three years (my mother was a teacher for the American school) and we always got a funny reaction when  people read or heard our name, so it is strange to most Germans.  There are still quite a few people with the name in the Mötzingen area, and of course there was Erwin, the former Minister President of BW. 

@mark737 Hi Mark, Teufel is a very cool name in my opinion, and there are not so few people in Germany with that name. Erwin Teufel is one. I first thought of Fritz Teufel. But I didn't realise that they all come from southern Germany. I wonder if the people there used to be so vicious that they deserved the name? I also wonder if the name is also common in the US. Have you ever heard someone say "Hi, my name is Peter Devil" and not mean Peter "Devil"? And another question: How is your German? Viele Grüße

@herringbone  Yes, we've always wondered how the name originated.  Most likely from a place name (Teufelsberg, Teufelssee) or a character descriptive.  It seems the word is not as harsh in German as devil is in English.  I could never imagine anyone having the surname Devil in the US or UK, though maybe Australia.   I'd never heard of Fritz Teufel but just went and read the Wikipedia page on him - quite a different path from old uncle Erwin.  

I didn't learn much German when we lived there, going to American school and socializing mostly with other Amis.   I did study it for two years in college, with classes five days a week taught by native German instructors, in which we spoke nothing but German.  I was semi-fluent after that, but alas, that was more than a few years ago.  Aber mit hilfe von zwei oder drei bier beginnt es wieder zu kommen.  

@mark737 This is all very interesting. Germany is significantly less religious than America, I think I can say that. Religion means nothing to me myself, but even in Protestant and even Catholic regions, most people, while they may go to church, maintain a certain distance from religious content. If you were to ask people in a German church if they believe in God, at least half would shrug their shoulders, and a portion would definitely answer no. Church has become a mere ritual, which is why for many the devil is no longer the embodiment of all evil at all, but a mere mythical figure with a tail, a dung fork and two horns. I associate him most with puppet theater, to be honest. And, of course, with the German drama "Faust," where the devil buys the soul of the ever-dissatisfied scholar Dr. Faustus and destroys him. For me, the word has a fairy-tale connotation, a literary one and definitely a funny one, which is why it's actually not a harsh name at all. But I understand that this would be unthinkable in America. -And now, get out the beer, we have to practice. First some articles, second the correct use of the "erweiterter Infinitiv mit zu", and then some irregular verbs. In German, of course. Repeat after me: Wer brauchen ohne zu gebraucht, braucht brauchen überhaupt nicht zu gebrauchen.

I love these things very much, I collect everything for the house from different countries 😍 
I was very interested in this table. I was very interested in this table. He's in such a vintage style with his history. I love to spend my work time over a cup of coffee lying on the couch, next to such a table and an old issue

@herringbone  I agree that Americans take religion more seriously today than the average German, but what about 500 years ago? And on that note, I read a little about the noble family with the name Teufel von Pirkensee in the Regensburg area.  They owned the Schloss Pirkensee from 1521-1731.  One of the living decedents,  Matthias Baron Teuffel von Birkensee is married to actress Sharon Brauner.  

And thanks for that bit of grammar practice.  It brings back some memories, even without beer, like using the Strauss waltz to remember the dative prepositions.  I actually learned most of what I know about English grammar from studying German.    

What passes for popular religion in the USA is the idolatry of fascism.