At the Wolfsonian

Armchair, c. 1934

Designed by Gerald Summers, British, b. Egypt 1899-1967
Made by Makers of Simple Furniture, London
Plywood, pigmented finish

Summers' admirably simple construction dispenses with connectors and almost with off-cuts, using one single sheet of plywood. Following a simple pattern, he separated the back legs from the back and armrests and bent the segments in different directions. The result was an organically shaped armchair, comfortable even without cushions, involving low material and labor inputs. Possibly the chair was conceived for use in the tropics - with its smooth surface and lack of metal connectors, it is hygienic and deteriorates only gradually. However, despite the constructive advantages, the back legs could not withstand great stress and snapped easily. In addition, the production costs, and consequently the sales price, were higher than the designs of the popular Scandinavian. As a result, Summers' company, Makers of Simple Furniture, Inc., founded in 1929, produced only 120 units of the chair. MSC
Text excerpted from 100 Masterpieces from the Vitra Design Museum Collection, Editors: Alexander von Vegesack, Peter Dunas, Mathias Schwartz-Clauss; Texts by Peter Dunas, Mathias Schwartz-Clauss, Matthias Kries, Petra Rohde, Alexander von Vegesack, Christopher Wilk. Copyright Vitra Design Museum and Authors, 1996.