who designed this chair?  

J.R., you mean the
character played by Larry Hagman on "Dallas"
Or do you mean Jens Rissom?
I get confused.

your funny...
Larry, I mean Barry!
It appears you have quite the catalog collection and records (lp) to boot.
speaking of lp's, do you know anything about Bjorn Wiinblad (Danish desgner) creating cover desgins for Mecury in the 1950s?

Sameness
Setag,
I have that same chair. The only ID's I have are two stickers...One sticker, silver, says IMC inside a honeycomb. The other, red/silver, says R & D. I'll post pics tomorrow. Did my best researching, but fruitless.
It's a nice well made chair. Bottom picture was taken when I first got it.

.
I like it.

KEM WEBER
he did alot of custom work for Disney in the 40s take care of it...

BTW
I got my chair in Indiana. Since there's serial numbers, perhaps the stickers are inventory for a business or school.
BUT...I'm sure I saw the IMC sticker on another piece (table) last summer badgering about ebay.

wow!
Woofwoof, your chair does look strikingly similar. Your armrests have a little more 90o angle at elbow rest area, but still pretty much the same style overall. I wondered too if those stickers represented the maker/designer or where some sort of serial control number you find on previously owned corporate furniture?
azurechicken,
I am not convinced as of yet my cabinet was designed by Weber, however will post a pic. When I get a chance and hopefully someone can identify.

$100.
one hundred bucks says it's jens risom!

The
The 2 chairs, although similar, seem to have different finishes.
The first much more what you would expect from a Scandinavian chair, the second looks very American to my European eye

Available on DVD
"Who shot J.R. (designing this chair)?"
----imagine designing a chair in the shower with a ten gallon hat on, while being filmed....
only available for a limited time.

Stow Davis
They look like Stow Davis chairs to me. A Grand Rapids firm that did a lot of quality contract furniture in the 50s and 60s. Not sure if they still use the name, but I think Steelcase bought them out in the 1980s.
I've had chairs exactly like that in the past and while there is no designer attribution, they are VERY well made and quite handsome.

It might seem obvious but....
when in doubt about the european or north american origin of any piece of furniture, just hold a measuring tape to it. If the measurements coincide with the imperial scale you are most likely looking at a north american production. It is most likely European if you find that it fits the metric scale.
It might not be that obvious for the non professional, but the measurements with which you work have a visible influence on the end result and the fact that the basic unit in the metric system (1 cm) is only 2/5th of the basic unit in the imperial system (1 inch)certainly affects the proportions of the end result.

Sameness centerfold
Snapped a few more comparison pics. Getting a better hang of ISO etc for my camera. First pic accurately reproduces the wood color...likely walnut...my upholster says teak...
So Peg board says Stow Davis eh...Do you have any literature? If proven, does he get 100 from Mario? You're right, the quality and stateliness is quite evident. Until my longing for a Finn Juhl NV45 is gratified, this will do quite well. The problem I'm having with mine, is it rather dinked up...not sure if want to invest $ in refinishing/upholstery...even if I love it...hem and haw!
Great advice Koen! I'm inexperienced in this matter. My measurement was from one cut to another with results just over or under 1/16 of an inch.
Oh and Setag, I'm liking the fabric on yours...inspiration.

Pina's Fifties Furniture
Look at pages 150, 151 and 153 of Leslie Pina's "Fifties Furniture" published by Schiffer books. The chapter on office furniture features several pages of vintage Stow Davis catalogue shots. This chair design appears in three photos. We had a nice pair of these, but sold them several years ago. I don't think I have pictures of them any longer, but I'll check.