1960s La Fonda Del Sol Restaurant Salt Shakers Girard Midcentury
About the Item
- Creator:Alexander Girard (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 3 in (7.62 cm)Diameter: 2 in (5.08 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Porcelain,Molded
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Some crazing to the white bands around the neck.
- Seller Location:Hyattsville, MD
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU985730982402
Alexander Girard
The director of design for the textiles department at Herman Miller, Inc., from 1952 to 1973, mid-century modern visionary Alexander Girard introduced bright, bouncy colors to upholstery and drapery fabrics, created jaunty graphics for marketing and advertising materials and devised motifs for everything from textiles to ceramics based on his true love: folk art from cultures around the globe.
The son of an American mother and an Italian father, Girard (known as Sandro to his friends) was born in New York City in 1907 but raised in Florence. He came from a creative family — his father was a master woodworker — and Girard began drawing and making his own playthings as a youngster. He had a fascination for nativity crèche tableaux, an enthusiasm that likely was the germ for his later interest in folk art. He went on to earn degrees in architecture at schools in both Rome and London before returning to New York in the 1930s and working in interior design.
By the 1940s, he and his wife, Susan, had moved to Detroit, where Girard was head of design for Detrola, a firm specializing in tabletop radios. The elegant bentwood housings that he developed for the devices won him acclaim, but, more importantly, at Detrola he met Charles Eames. The two became lifelong friends, and it was Eames who drew Girard toward Herman Miller, which had no dedicated textile department until Girard arrived, and most of its furniture was upholstered in mundane, “safe” hues. Girard changed all that, introducing fabrics in vivid shades of red, orange, yellow and blue. His early designs incorporated geometric motifs — stripes, circles, square, triangles and such. But toward the end of the 1950s he began to introduce folk art themes into his designs.
Girard did not collect important or expensive folk pieces. Rather he was drawn to simple objects such as handmade toys, figurines and models of animals, buildings and plants. The fabrics that emerged had whimsical, lighthearted motifs depicting, for example, angels, children, birds and flowers. Toward the end of his term with Herman Miller, in an effort to achieve what he termed “aesthetic functionalism,” Girard produced a group of what he called “Environmental Enrichment” pieces — silk-screened cotton panels emblazoned with various graphic designs, from bold geometric patterns to folk art themes. They were meant to divide spaces in offices or the home in lieu of walls while simultaneously functioning as art. Today, panels of vintage Girard upholstery textiles have become premium collectibles. The designer's furniture is less well known, primarily because most of it was created for private commissions.
Girard’s most lasting contribution may be his folk art collection. He and Susan had begun gathering pieces shortly after their marriage, in 1936. By the 1970s, they had amassed the world’s largest collection of cross-cultural folk art, composed of more than 100,000 pieces from around the world. The Girards donated their holdings to the Museum of International Folk Art, in Santa Fe (where they had moved in the ’60s), quintupling the institution’s collection, and a new wing — named for the Girards — had to be built to hold it.
Find a striking range of vintage Alexander Girard seating, tables, textiles and other furnishings on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Hyattsville, MD
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- 1960s Alexander Girard Ashtray La Fonda Del Sol Restaurant NYC New York City MCMBy Alexander GirardLocated in Hyattsville, MDA very rare and vintage New York City relic. No chips, No handling damage. However this example does have some manufacturing defects that are all Photo'd.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Tobacco Accessories
MaterialsPorcelain
- 1950s Scandinavian Sea Anemone Forms Salt Pepper Sugar Stig Lindberg GustavsbergBy Stig LindbergLocated in Hyattsville, MDRare museum worthy biomorphic pure white 'bone china' salt, pepper, and sugar/cinnamon shakers. Measures: Salt and pepper diameter 1.25 x height: 3 in. Sugar shaker diameter 1.7...Category
Vintage 1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Tableware
MaterialsPorcelain
- Painter Charles Sheeler designed Salt Pepper S+P Shaker Art Deco Machine AgeBy Charles SheelerLocated in Hyattsville, MD1930s Amazing minimalist tall cube salt and pepper shakers, they hold simplistic light and shadows like his paintings. Really neat little things, and threaded caps to bottoms.Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Tableware
MaterialsAluminum
- Danish Rosewood Table Crumb Brush Dust Pan Tray Bold Graphic Midcentury DesignBy Laurids LonborgLocated in Hyattsville, MDLaurids Lonborg bold, graphical design. Rare wood constructed brush, with a textured plastic molded pan.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Tableware
MaterialsRosewood
- Susana Espinosa Cabeza Mujer Bronze Sculpture Puerto Rico Isla del Sol Artist PRLocated in Hyattsville, MDWonderful and Rare version of the Cabeza de Mujer series in Bronze. Signed and Number; Espinosa 246/300. Bronze Bust Only (not including base) W: 3 1/8 x D: 2 1/2 x H: 3 3/4 in.Category
Vintage 1980s Puerto Rican Mid-Century Modern Busts
MaterialsBronze
- Mid-Century SPV Denmark for Raymor Pewter Salt Pepper ShakersBy Paul EvansLocated in Hyattsville, MDPatinated Pyramid Salt and Pepper Vessels. Design is attributed to Paul Evans. W 2 x 15/16 x 2 in W 1.5 x 15/16 x 3 inCategory
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsPewter
- Alexander Girard La Fonda Del Sol for Mayer China Bowls, Set of FourBy Alexander GirardLocated in Garnerville, NYA set of four Alexander Girard designed white glazed porcelain bowls for Mayer China. A La Fonda Del Sol design. Fully signed on the bottom, A La Fonda Del Sol Design, Mayer China-Mi...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Royal Copenhagen, Salto Service, White, Salt and Pepper Shaker, 1960sLocated in Copenhagen, DKRoyal Copenhagen. Salto service, White. Salt and pepper shaker. 1960s. Largest measures: 7 x 5 cm. In excellent condition. Stamped.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Tableware
MaterialsPorcelain
- Royal Copenhagen Blue Flower Curved Salt and Pepper ShakerLocated in Copenhagen, DKRoyal Copenhagen blue flower curved salt and pepper shaker. Measures: 8.5 x 5 cm. In excellent condition. Stamped. 1st factory ...Category
20th Century Danish Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Royal Copenhagen Blue Flower Braided Salt and Pepper ShakerLocated in Copenhagen, DKRoyal Copenhagen Blue Flower Braided salt and pepper shaker in porcelain. Measures: 10 x 5.8 cm. In excellent condition. Stamped. 1st factory quality.Category
20th Century Danish Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Royal Worcester, England. Evesham mustard jar and salt / pepper shakers.Located in Copenhagen, DKRoyal Worcester, England. Evesham mustard jar and salt / pepper shakers in porcelain decorated with fruits and birds. 1980s. The salt shaker measures: 12 x 5.5 cm. The mustard jar m...Category
Vintage 1980s English Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Bing & Grondahl, Empire. Two small bowls, two salt shakers in porcelain. 1920s.Located in Copenhagen, DKBing & Grondahl, Empire. Two small bowls, two salt shakers in porcelain. 1920s. In excellent condition. Marked. Bowls 8.5 cm. x 7.5 cm. H 1.5 cm. – second sorting. Salt shaker - larg...Category
Vintage 1920s Danish Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain