Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Stendig Co. played a pivotal role in introducing modern European furniture to the American market, thanks to the business acumen of founder Charles Stendig.
Around 1950, the Brooklyn, New York–born Stendig (1924–2024) worked for Raymor, a purveyor of modern china and accessories that is best known for distributing designer Russel Wright’s American Modern line of ceramics. While at Raymor, Stendig focused on the company’s less popular pieces that were made in Italy and Scandinavia, recognizing their potential for the American market. In 1955, he left the company and decided to establish Stendig Co.
That year, a chance encounter with a Finnish trade representative led him to furniture company Asko — one of the largest companies operating in Scandinavia. Asko invited him and Joseph Carreiro, a professor at the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), to help refine their designs.
At Asko’s production facility in Finland, Stendig met several renowned Finnish designers such as Ilmari Tapiovaara, Tapio Wirkkala and Eero Aarnio, the iconic Ball chair creator. Stendig’s trip there was a success, and Stendig Co. began importing Finnish furniture to the United States.
In 1956, the first Stendig Co. showroom opened in Manhattan. A year later, during a trip to Zurich, Stendig came across a Bauhaus–inspired furniture store featuring pieces by Swiss designers Kurt Thut, Hans Eichenberger and Robert Haussmann, the store’s co-owner. Following a meeting with Haussmann, Stendig became the retailer’s exclusive U.S. distributor.
Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, Stendig Co. imported and sold furniture from influential European designers, including Swiss designer Bruno Rey, Italian architect and industrial designer Vico Magistretti and Hungarian-American architect and designer Marcel Breuer, creator of the Wassily lounge chair.
By the late 1960s, Stendig Co. moved its headquarters to an expansive space on Manhattan’s East Side and opened showrooms in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, each home to the company’s striking collection of mid-century European armchairs, sofas, dining room chairs, coffee tables and other furnishings. Stendig’s founder was by then representing Italian manufacturers Poltronova and Gufram and bringing revolutionary works of Italian Radical design to American shores.
In 1971, Charles Stendig sold the company to Burlington Industries. He retired in 1976. Today Stendig’s European imports are coveted by interior designers and vintage furniture collectors, and he will be forever known as the man who introduced modern European design to the United States.
Find a range of vintage Stendig Co. furniture on 1stDibs.
1960s Czech Bauhaus Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Bentwood
1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
1960s Czech Bauhaus Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Bentwood
1970s Norwegian Post-Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Rattan
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Hardwood, Lacquer
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Wood, Rosewood
1960s Polish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Wood, Bentwood
1960s Swiss Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Lacquer, Cane
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
1980s Italian Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Beech, Lacquer
1970s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Lacquer
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome, Steel
1970s Bauhaus Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
1950s Slovenian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Bentwood
2010s Portuguese Modern Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
Late 20th Century Macedonian Bauhaus Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Beech, Bentwood
Late 20th Century American Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Walnut
1970s Czech Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Birch
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Vienna Secession Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Bentwood
1930s Czech Bauhaus Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Rattan, Beech, Bentwood
1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Wood
1960s Polish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Walnut
1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Walnut
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Hardwood, Lacquer
1960s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Bentwood
Late 20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Beech, Bentwood
1950s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Birch
1980s Italian Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Velvet, Wood, Lacquer
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Bentwood
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Stendig Co. Dining Room Chairs
Wood