Room divider by Poul Cadovius, Denmark, 1960’s
About the Item
- Creator:Poul Cadovius (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 74.81 in (190 cm)Width: 33.08 in (84 cm)Depth: 23.63 in (60 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Circa 1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Antwerpen, BE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7893239099222
Poul Cadovius
While Poul Cadovius is most famous for his modular floating shelving system, his career in design didn’t actually start with wall units.
Born just outside of Copenhagen in 1911, Cadovius began manufacturing window treatments in the 1940s with his partner, Hother Brønner. He soon turned his focus from Venetian blinds to furniture, finding success designing svelte pieces in teak, a richly colored hardwood favored by the Danish mid-century modernists.
In 1945, Cadovius founded the furniture manufacturer Royal System with his designs, including the 1948 Royal System shelving unit, a space-saving solution that underscored Cadovius’s penchant for problem-solving in a multifunctional way. Rather than balance shelves on wooden or metal legs, it held them to the wall with brackets.
Cadovius followed the Royal System shelving unit with the System Ultra in 1957, the System Cado in 1960 and the System Abstracta, which was installed throughout the exhibition halls of the 1962 Cologne Furniture Fair. All expanded on his idea of wall-mounted shelving that saved space while offering functionality, allowing for limitless combinations of storage, shelves, work surfaces and other units. The Royal System proved to be especially popular and is still produced by Danish furniture brand dk3 today, with early models continuing to be in demand.
Along with the shelving systems, Cadovius designed everything from lounge chairs to mushroom-shaped bus shelters, and he held over 400 patents. In addition to being a designer, he was also an entrepreneur with an eye for opportunity, such as purchasing Danish manufacturer France & Søn in the mid-1960s and folded it into Cado, a company he founded years earlier. He used this as an occasion to experiment with his designs, conceiving such unusual pieces as an aluminum-based dining table topped with rosewood and hand-painted by artist Susan Fjedldoe Mygge.
Cadovius’s innovations in shelving continued throughout his career, with examples like the sculptural Butterfly shelf and vertical pieces mixing shelving and storage. In 2018, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Royal System, dk3 reissued the celebrated shelving system as well as a more compact version reimagined for 21st-century homes.
Find a collection of vintage Poul Cadovius storage cabinets, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Antwerpen, Belgium
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- 3-piece wall unit by Poul Cadovius, Denmark, 1960sBy Poul CadoviusLocated in Antwerpen, BE3-piece wall unit designed by Poul Cadovius and produced in Denmark around 1960. This set contains 4 supports, 12 shelves of different sizes and 2 cabinets. In good condition with so...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
MaterialsWood
- Poul Cadovius 3-Bay Wall Unit in Teak for Cado, Danish Design, 1960sBy Poul CadoviusLocated in Antwerpen, BEThree-column wall unit designed by Poul Cadovius and produced by Cado in Denmark around 1960. This shelving system with teak backplates is part of the luxurious Cado series, with woo...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsTeak
- Carl Aage Skov Rare Prototype Coffee Table, Denmark, 1960sLocated in Antwerpen, BECoffee table designed by Carl Aage Skov and produced in Denmark in the 1960’s. The table is made of a burl wood top and blonde teak wooden frame. This is a v...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak, Burl
- Sewing Table with Drawer and Rattan Basket, Denmark, 1960sLocated in Antwerpen, BESide table designed and produced in Denmark in the 1960s. This trolley meant to be used as a sewing table. Wooden base with veneered finishings. Features a drawer and rattan basket. ...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsRattan, Wood
- Illum Wikkelso 3-Seater Sofa for Niels Eilersen, Denmark, 1960sBy Illum Wikkelsø, Niels EilersenLocated in Antwerpen, BE3-seater sofa by Illum Wikkelsø, produced by Eilersen in Denmark in the 1960’s. Solid teak frame garnished with pillows upholstered in the original woolen quality fabric. The singels...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Teak
- Arne Vodder Writing Desk for Sibast Furniture, Denmark, 1960sBy Sibast, Arne VodderLocated in Antwerpen, BEExecutive writing desk designed by Arne Vodder and produced by Sibast furniture in Denmark around 1960. This large L-shaped desk is made of solid rosewood and rosewood veneer and it ...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsRosewood
- Vintage Rattan room divider or room divider made in Italy 1960Located in Oostrum-Venray, NLVintage Rattan room divider or room divider made in Italy 1960 A stylish bamboo vintage room divider that you don't often come across anymore. Beautifully designed with an eye for ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Bohemian Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsBamboo
- Danish Teak Tambour Door Sideboard Room DividerLocated in Kensington, MDA Danish modern teak sideboard / room divider. Featuring tambour doors that slide open to reveal four felt lined drawers & two adjustable shelves. The backside is fully finished, all...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsTeak
- Room DividerLocated in Hellerup, DKVintage 1960s French bamboo three fold room divider or screen.Category
Vintage 1960s French Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsBamboo
- Room DividerBy MasquespacioLocated in VALENCIA, VCROOM DIVIDER Room Divider is part of the “Forms & Textures” collection. A serie of objects developed to reflect about the boundaries between Art & Design....Category
2010s Spanish Modern Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsPolystyrene, Paint
- Room Divider by Fred LeymanBy Fred LeymanLocated in Stockholm, SESpectacular sculptural room divider by Fred Leyman, custom-made for Majorna Library in Gothenburg in 1963. This piece is one of four that are each unique, made from wrought iron and hardened leather. The room dividers were granted substantial public interest and the studies for them were subsequently exhibited at Liljevalchs Konsthall in 1966. They were returned to the artist in the 1990s and acquired by Nordlings from the Leyman family in 2016. Fred Leyman was a Swedish artist, schooled at the renowned Valand Art Academy in Gothenburg during the 1950s. Leyman worked in a distinctly modernist style influenced by the international modernist movement, music, political ideas and the environment in which he lived. He is best known for his around 40 large-scale sculptures erected in public spaces in Gothenburg and other parts of southwestern Sweden. Fred Leyman lived on the island of Orust with his wife and children, in accordance with what he found to be ”a good life” – close to nature on a small farm with sheep and horses. He was also deeply interested in music, particularly traditional folk music. Both the open, marine landscape of Orust and the rhythmical qualities in music were vital forces in his artistry and in the development of his personal style. Leyman used iron and steel and sometimes wood and leather in his sculptures. These are characterized by sharp and billowing graphic lines and the use of negative space, seemingly always reaching somewhere. It is an expression striking the perfect balance between abstract and concrete. Leyman’s materials of choice were particularly suitable for large and sustainable...Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsWrought Iron
- Room Divider by Fred LeymanBy Fred LeymanLocated in Stockholm, SESpectacular sculptural room divider by Fred Leyman, custom-made for Majorna Library in Gothenburg in 1963. This piece is one of four that are each unique, made from wrought iron and hardened leather. The room dividers were granted substantial public interest and the studies for them were subsequently exhibited at Liljevalchs Konsthall in 1966. They were returned to the artist in the 1990s and acquired by Nordlings from the Leyman family in 2016. Fred Leyman was a Swedish artist, schooled at the renowned Valand Art Academy in Gothenburg during the 1950s. Leyman worked in a distinctly modernist style influenced by the international modernist movement, music, political ideas and the environment in which he lived. He is best known for his around 40 large-scale sculptures erected in public spaces in Gothenburg and other parts of southwestern Sweden. Fred Leyman lived on the island of Orust with his wife and children, in accordance with what he found to be ”a good life” close to nature on a small farm with sheep and horses. He was also deeply interested in music, particularly traditional folk music. Both the open, marine landscape of Orust and the rhytmical qualitites in music were vital forces in his artistry and in the development of his personal style. Leyman used iron and steel and sometimes wood and leather in his sculptures. These are characterized by sharp and billowing graphic lines and the use of negative space, seemingly always reaching somewhere. It is an expression striking the perfect balance between abstract and concrete. Leyman’s materials of choice were particularly suitable for large and sustainable...Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsWrought Iron