Featured MCM or older Heavy duty metal folding chairs

My gut is saying MCM but it has lied to me before Picked up a pair of these metal folding chairs. They are solid metal. Not cheaply made. If anyone has any information about them it would be appreciated. I asked about them in an MCM group and after 4 days only received one response thinking they were 1930s

 

To my eye, they look newish Home Goods but were left outdoors too long. Certainly not MCM. And the 1930s date came back because of their eau de nil color which was popular in that decade.

Debora

 

That is possible Deborah but the way these are made makes me they are think not. These are solid and have some weight to them which I wouldn't expect from Home Goods or like importers. But I may be wrong and you may be on the right track. Hopefully some evidence one way or the other will turn up. Thank you.

 

Others will weigh in. Their opinions may vary from mine.

Debora

 

These are similar to yours. Seller claims vintage 1970-1979. I don't believe that date range is correct; think much more recent.

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/b...ge-outdoor-bistro-table-chairs/id-f_10807173/

Debora

 

Definitely appear to be along the same lines. But the feet appear to be pads on these and mine are one piece of steel turned out for feet. Also, the back upright appears to be tubular and mine are flat steel with a twist in them. Thank you. Hard to believe someone actually bought something on the website as they are notoriously high priced.

 

Hi,
The feet on yours are called a penny foot. It was only done on quality pieces since it was hand done. I agree with the older date pre 1940 since penny feet started to disappear then during the war. I would have professionally stripped and repainted, they will last for years.
greg

 

Here is a similar commercial-use chair:

https://furnitureroots.com/sturdy-outdoor-bistro-chair/



~Cheryl

 

Well, there you go. I stand both informed -- and corrected! Thank you for "penny feet." Then... color is consistent with a 1930s dating.

Debora

 

I'm confused. Isn't the one Cheryl posted pretty much a match? So newer in other words?

 

Cheryl? Let me go back up and check...

Debora

 

Ah! Sorry, didn't see. Excellent find, Cheryl! If contemporary, color would be something like "pistachio."

Debora

 

Thank you Greg.

The one Cheryl posted is close but not quite correct. Notice how the back rest connects on mine and this one is different. Also, It just might be me, but the steel looks "thinner" to me on the one Cheryl posted and the hinge at the seat appears to be different.

Thank you to each and everyone.

 

Not sure what you mean by "correct." Won't speak for Cheryl but my takeaway was similar chairs are currently being produced. Do you believe the steel thickness and the hinge design to be an indicator of greater age?

Debora

 

Maybe correct was the wrong word but more not quite exact. As you state "similar" chairs are being produced. Yes I would think thickness of steel would help in determining age because nowadays most everything is made as cost effective as possible. Also the way something is put together would help in determining age don't you think? For instance: the hinges on the original Knoll Butterfly chairs are made a certain way.

 

Yes, I do agree that the way something is put together can help in determining age. On the other hand, one can't assume that because something is slightly "different" in construction it's older than another similar item.

Debora

 

Not that it matters - original Knoll Butterfly chairs are welded not hinged

 

From my understanding the early Hardoy's were non-folding(welded). The original Knoll's have tubular rivets that act as hinges so you can fold the chair up. This is information I picked up in an MCM Group on FB

 

I'm not on facebook (hate the whole idea) so I don't know the group. Or what they used as reference for that claim? If they have a reference, could you cite it?

I remember these chairs from the 60's; my parents bought a repro, with the hinge. The hinged ones are still popular (and easy to ship from China) - my wife and I bought some for our kids to use when they were little. So in my experience the hinged ones are repro's. I have an old welded ones that I found a dozen or so years ago, but I never could decide whether it was an original or a repro (since I assume some of the welded ones could be repros too).

According to the book "1000 Chairs" by Fiell, the butterfly chair was designed in 1938 by Hardoy, Kurchan and Barnet but not made by them: "Originally manufactured by Artek-Pascoe, production was taken over by Knoll after 1945. Later, Knoll lost a copyright infringement lawsuit which allowed the Butterfly to be copied by a plethora of firms". They include a picture of the chair in their book with welded bars (no hinge), with the caption "Knoll Associates, New York, c. 1947-1975".

So unless the facebook poster has better information than the Fiell book, he is incorrect.

 

Where they get there information from I have no idea. All I know is there are several post in the group when you search butterfly. On more than one occasion more than 1 person has stated that this style is Knoll. The welded style were Hardoy and produced by a couple of companies. They do say that several companies made the butterfly chair as you stated after Knoll lost the copyright. By far, I'm not expert in this area and depend on others to educate me.