Thanks. Here's one last link-- http://1930.fr/mogens-koch-iconic-safari-chair.html -- which brings the number of comparable chairs (with many of the same variations) up to 5. I'm not suggesting that this is evidence of anything except that somebody, whoever it was, seems to have reproduced this particular design a number of times , wherever it originated.
I actually quite like this version of the chair--better than some of the authenticated ones. I had no idea what it was when I bought it and paid less than $100 for it, so I'm not expecially invested in its being an original, just curious about its origin and history.
Searching "Valmazan Sarreid Ltd" on the internet, it appears that I was a producer of brassware and silverware. The logo you can find on some of the stuff matches yours. Many of the items from this brand are Made in Spain or somehow have the mention of Spain.
Back to the MK16, here are a few documents that could help you:.
1. Den Store Danske M
"wood seems to be beech... proof of early manufacturing"
It's certainly proof of something...
Dalloway, I'm glad you posted this chair. I was not aware of it, and it is turning into a very good case study. I had previously skimmed over the details of other manufacturers and was more interested in my own Interna version. By examining these other versions more closely over the last couple of days, I now have a better grasp of all of the important details.
It reminds me of some Wegner Round Chair threads from a few years ago. Most of those chairs were vintage knockoffs as well, but studying all the details at the time now makes Round Chair reviews go very quickly for me.
So two conclusions from all of this:
1. The early 1960s produciton of the Mogans Koch chair (by Interna, right?) seems ot have strongly influenced these late 60s chairs. The brass fittings seem more fitting for Spain.
2. Those other 4 chairs found at various sites on the internet appear to be misattributions, as many of you suspected.
Seeing at the Almazan credit is worth much, much less than the Mogens Koch prototype credit, I would tend to be more charitable towards it. I would still like to see a marked chair, or a vintage advert or something, though. As a general rule, the higher the value attached to the designer/maker, the higher the bar of proof.
Once in a while you see this sort of thing, where a company takes a design that is not available (or minimally available) in a certain market, and makes a very good, quality copy of the design.
It may not be 100% accurate to call it a knockoff, because that means a cheaper version of the real thing for less. I don't really know what the proper term is for this sort of thing. Usually if it is a respected designer who is responsible for this sort of copy, then everybody sort of ignores it. For instance, there is a 'BKF Butterfly' chair that was "designed" by Verner Panton for Bovirke in Denmark. It seems to be rare, or it is so identical to the others, that it can't be distinguished.
Interesting. The text of that last link I provided attributed the design or manufacture to the Valenti family in Almazan, Spain (hence, V.Almazan) and I've been able to find at least four mid-century Spanish Valenti chairs, all interesting designs seemingly of high standard. Here's just one with a row of brass nails similar to the ones on my chair. https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/seating/side-chairs/spanish-leather-va... This one actually reminds me of Thomas Jefferson's Campeachy chair.
And then there are these as well: https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/seating/chairs/campaign-chairs-valenti...
So maybe this *is* an example of a respected designer (or design family in this case) making a fine copy? Or maybe something else is going on? Is it possible or conceivable that the two chairs (the Koch and the Valenti) have a common ancestor? The Valenti chair looks kind of 19th century to me, the big period of campaign furniture design.
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com