Finn Juhl for Cado Modular Sofa Lounge Armchairs 1950s, Danish Modern
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 79 in (200.66 cm)Depth: 23 in (58.42 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 3
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor fading. retains original upholstery and finish. Some worn areas to textile, light scuffs to wood base.
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4190315795582
Finn Juhl
Along with Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen and Børge Mogensen, Finn Juhl was one of the great masters of mid-20th-century Danish design. Juhl was the first among that group to have his work promoted overseas, bringing the character of the nation’s furnishings — and the inherent principles of grace, craftsmanship and utility on which they were based — to an international audience. A stylistic maverick, Juhl embraced expressive, free-flowing shapes in chair and sofa designs much earlier than his colleagues, yet even his quietest pieces incorporate supple, curving forms that are at once elegant and ergonomic.
As a young man, Juhl hoped to become an art historian, but his father steered him into a more practical course of study in architecture. He began designing furniture in the late 1930s, a discipline in which, despite his education, Juhl was self-taught, and quite proud of the fact. His earliest works, designed in the late 1930s, are perhaps his most idiosyncratic. The influence of contemporary art is clear in Juhl's 1939 Pelican chair: an almost Surrealist take on the classic wing chair. Critics reviled the piece, however; one said it looked like a "tired walrus." Juhl had tempered his creativity by 1945, when the Danish furniture-making firm Niels Vodder began to issue his designs. Yet his now-classic NV 45 armchair still demonstrates panache, with a seat that floats above the chair’s teak frame.
Juhl first exhibited his work in the United States in 1950, championed by Edgar Kaufmann Jr., an influential design critic and scion of America’s most prominent family of modern architecture and design patrons. (Kaufmann’s father commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright’s design of the house “Fallingwater.”) Juhl quickly won a following for such signature designs as the supremely comfortable Chieftan lounge chair, the biomorphic Baker sofa, and the Judas table, a piece ornamented with stylish inlaid silver plaquettes.
As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, Finn Juhl’s furniture — as well as his lighting, ceramics, tableware and accessories — has an air of relaxed sophistication and elegance that is unique in the realm of mid-20th-century design.
Cado
While Danish furniture company Cado is popular among collectors of Scandinavian modern furniture for its well-crafted chairs, sofas, coffee tables and dining tables, the brand is best known for its sculptural wall shelving systems created by renowned Danish designer Poul Cadovius (1911–2011), Cado's founder.
The Copenhagen-born Cadovius initially studied to be an upholsterer and saddler before pursuing furniture design. He began his career in the 1940s making Venetian blinds and other window treatments before shifting his focus toward designing versatile furnishings that could be adapted to all sorts of interior spaces.
In 1945, Cadovius founded the furniture manufacturer Royal System intending to produce his designs for postwar homeowners. His visionary works included 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. The wall unit was practical and functional, but it was also decorative, made of rich and exotic woods like walnut, rosewood and teak, a favorite wood of Cadovius’s and a highly sought-after material among mid-century modern designers.
Cadovius established Cado in the late 1950s. The manufacturer followed the Royal System shelving unit with several other modular storage designs including the System Ultra in 1957, System Cado in 1960 and System Abstracta in 1962. Two years later, with more than 400 patents to his name, Cadovius purchased premier Danish furniture manufacturer France & Søn and incorporated it into Cado.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Cado collaborated with influential Danish and European designers of the era such as Steen Østergaard, best known for his stackable Cado 290, a Space Age fiberglass-and-polyamide nylon lounge chair; Finn Juhl, a stylistic maverick who embraced expressive, free-flowing shapes in chair and sofa designs much earlier than his colleagues; and Ole Wanscher, who drew on Shaker furniture and Chippendale forms and created the widely loved Colonial chair and coffee table for P. Jeppesens Møbelfabrik.
Cadovius’s designs — as well as the other works manufactured by Cado — are widely coveted by vintage furniture enthusiasts all over the world. In 2018, the Danish brand dk3 reissued the Royal System as well as a more compact version.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Cado case pieces and storage cabinets, seating and tables.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Brooklyn, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- Finn Juhl FD 112 Armchair Lounge, Rosewood, Cado, France & Søn, 1960s, DenmarkBy Cado, Finn Juhl, France & SønLocated in Brooklyn, NYFinn Juhl FD 112 Armchair Lounge, Rosewood, Cado, France & Søn, 1960s, Denmark. Arms are removable. You can use as armless lounge as well. (See final pho...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsTextile, Rosewood
- Finn Juhl FD 112 Lounge Chair, Rosewood, Cado, France & Søn, 1960s, DenmarkBy Cado, Finn Juhl, France & SønLocated in Brooklyn, NYFinn Juhl FD 112 Lounge Chair, Rosewood, Cado, France & Søn, 1960s, Denmark. Gorgeous rosewood base. maker's label underside: "Cado Made in Denmark 7416...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsTextile, Rosewood
- Finn Juhl NV-53, Original Rosewood Lounge Chair, Niels Vodder, Denmark, 1953By Finn Juhl, Niels VodderLocated in Brooklyn, NYFinn Juhl NV-53, Original Rosewood Lounge Chair, Niels Vodder, Denmark, 1953. Finn Juhl originally designed the 53-series for master joiner Niels Vodder. It was introduced at the Cop...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Le Mah Jong Roche Bobois Custom Springtime Pastel Modular Sofa Sectional SetBy Hans Hopfer, Roche BoboisLocated in Brooklyn, NYLe Mah Jong Roche Bobois custom springtime pastel modular sofa l sectional set. This listing is for a set of 5 square elements, 2 straight back elements and 2 c...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
MaterialsTextile
- Le Mah Jong Modular Sofa Hans Hopfer Roche Bobois Missoni Silk Velvet, CorduroyBy Hans Hopfer, Roche Bobois, MissoniLocated in Brooklyn, NYMah Jong modular sofa set by Hans Hopfer, designed in 1971 for Roche Bobois and in a current customized mix of textiles from Sonia Rykiel and the house of Missoni. Features multiple cushions that can be arranged in endless number of ways Mix and match and stack (or don’t) at your leisure...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
MaterialsVelvet, Silk
- Le Mah Jong Modular Element Pair, Missoni Corner Lounge Chair, Roche Bobois 2015By Hans Hopfer, Roche Bobois, MissoniLocated in Brooklyn, NYMah-Jong modular sofa set by Hans Hopfer, designed in 1971 for Roche Bobois and a textile from the house of Missoni. This listing is for a set of two mah Jong elements as follows: a ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
MaterialsSilk, Velvet
- Finn Juhl Diplomat Chair for CADOBy Cado, Finn JuhlLocated in Shibuya-ku, 13Designed by leading Danish furniture designer Finn Juhl, this chair, FD209, also known as the Diplomat chair, was designed for embassies in 1963 and presented by France & Son. The or...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Mahogany
- 1960s Finn Juhl Set of Two Fully Restored Armchairs in Teak and Leather by CadoBy Finn Juhl, CadoLocated in Knebel, DKSet of two Finn Juhl armchairs in Bangkok teak and black leather designed in 1963 and made by France and Son / Cado in the 1960s The armchairs have a solid stabile frame...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Teak
- Danish Armchair by Finn Juhl for France & SonBy France & Søn, Finn JuhlLocated in Brescia, ITArmchair model FD 133 original vintage. This uniquely designed and elegant armchair was designed by Finn Juhl in the 1960s. The frame is solid teak wood and the upholstered cushions have the original vintage fabric...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsTeak
- 1950s Danish Design Classic Finn Juhl “Spade” Armchair, Upholstered in MohairBy Finn Juhl, France & DaverkosenLocated in Renens, CHFinn Juhl, a Danish architect born in 1912, started his own practice in 1945 where he specialized in designing both interiors and furniture. His works were of high standard and techn...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMohair, Teak
- Finn Juhl Armchairs Model FD 209 / Diplomat Produced by CadoBy Finn JuhlLocated in Limhamn, Skåne länRare set of 6 armchairs model FD 209 / Diplomat chairs designed by Finn Juhl. Produced by Cado in Denmark.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Teak
- 1960s Finn Juhl Model 209 Diplomat Chair in Mahogany and Brown Leather - CadoBy Cado, Finn JuhlLocated in Knebel, DKFinn Juhl designed the model 209 chairs in 1961. The chair is part of a series of furniture named the Diplomat series with chairs, desks, tables, cabinets and other furniture. The c...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
What Makes Scandinavian Modernism and Nordic Design So Irresistible?
Andrew Duncanson, founder of the Stockholm- and London-based gallery Modernity, weighs in on the masters of mid-century furniture and decorative arts.
How the Anglepoise Lamp Went from Desktop Companion to Hollywood Icon
Since its 1934 debut, the ingenious task light has become one of the most celebrated examples of industrial design.