VINTAGE ERCOL BUTTERFLY CHAIR RETRO DANISH STYLE MIDCENTURY #902b
VINTAGE ERCOL BUTTERFLY CHAIR RETRO DANISH STYLE MIDCENTURY #902b. Lovely vintage Ercol Butterfly chair made of elm veneered ply with a bent elm frame and slender turned legs.
In good vintage condition; some signs of wear and tear, commensurate with age, but nothing which detracts. The clean, simple lines of postwar British design are still as fashionable today as they were 50 years ago. The chair's designer, Lucian Randolph Ercolani, arrived in London from his native Florence in 1894. His great grandfather was an evangelical preacher who had upset the Catholic rulers of his home city and the Salvation Army arranged to smuggle the family to England.
Ercolani went to Shoreditch College of Furniture and set up his own furniture factory, Ercol, in 1920. The Butterfly chair was launched in 1956 and although not the bestselling Ercol line (that is the more traditional Windsor) it is certainly the most iconic. Its clean lines and spare design are almost Scandinavian in simplicity, rather than the more flamboyant Italian style.Ercolani had also perfected the technique of steam-bending wood into curves as well as drying elm with steam so that it wouldn't warp. These methods allowed him to produce both the classic Windsor and the curvy Butterfly. Edward Tadros, Ercolani's grandson, says: It was a revolutionary design at the time. It had the classic Windsor base but the seat was in bent ply and that curve was new.
It's very comfortable, too, which is why it has endured. Lucian was always fiddling with the designs and the boardroom is full of prototypes that didn't quite work or didn't last very long. Then in 2000, the designer Margaret Howell asked if Ercol would make her a few Butterflies for her shops.
"Thanks to her, sales of the Butterfly started creeping up again and so we put it back into production, " says Tadros. "I think it has lasted this long because not only is it very comfortable but it's very simple and very pretty". The fuss-free clarity and honesty of the elm Butterfly chair was optimistic evidence of the never-had-it-so-good era (Terence Conran). Please do get in touch if you have any questions or would like to arrange a viewing. At time of listing we have 4 of these if you're interested in the set (please message for details).This listing is for one chair. The chair you receive may not be the one in the photo but will be the same in relation to condition. All payments must clear our account before an item can be delivered, posted or collected. We have posting days three times a week. Items are always packed with great care and with good packing materials.
We will always do our best to get a good deal for our customers. On most deliveries for larger items, we ask that you pay the courier or shippers direct and that you communicate directly with them once the goods have left our premises. Obviously, we will help where we can.
You are also more than welcome to arrange a courier yourself or to collect the item from us in person. Arising as a result of the goods being sent to a destination outside the United Kingdom. Condition We endeavour to describe all items as fully as possible, to the best of our knowledge, providing as much history, age and detail as is known to us together with a full description of any discernable defects or faults. These small signs of wear are normal and appropriate to their authenticity.You will need to notify us of any problems within 2 days of receipt. The item "VINTAGE ERCOL BUTTERFLY CHAIR RETRO DANISH STYLE MIDCENTURY #902b" is in sale since Wednesday, January 28, 2015. This item is in the category "Antiques\Antique Furniture\Chairs\20th Century". The seller is "lovelyandcompany" and is located in Hove.
This item can be shipped worldwide.