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WALTER GROPIUS DOOR HANDLE SET, CA. 1925 COMPRISING: TWO HANDLES, LOCK PLATES AND LOCK COVERS MAN...

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WALTER GROPIUS DOOR HANDLE SET, CA. 1925 COMPRISING: TWO HANDLES, LOCK PLATES AND LOCK COVERS MAN...
WALTER GROPIUS
DOOR HANDLE SET, CA. 1925
COMPRISING: TWO HANDLES, LOCK PLATES AND LOCK COVERS
MANUFACTURED BY BRONZEGIESSEREI & BAUBESCHLÄGEFABRIK S. A. LOEVY, BERLIN; NICKEL-PLATED BRASS
HANDLE: 41/4 IN. (10.4 CM) LONG
ESTIMATE: $1,200-1,800
PROVENANCE
PRIVATE COLLECTION, DESSAU, GERMANY
LITERATURE
KLAUS WEBER, DIE METALLWERKSTATT AM BAUHAUS, BERLIN, 1992, P. 208,
CAT. NOS. 168-169 (VARIATIONS)
FERDINAND KRAMER, DER REIZ DES SYSTEMATISCHEN. ARCHITEKTUR, EINRICHTUNG, DESIGN, MUSEUM FUR GESTALTUNG, ZÜRICH, 1991,
P. 28; 162 FOLL., ILL. NO. 2F
MARCEL BREUER
"B3" CLUB CHAIR, DESIGNED 1925-1926
MANUFACTURED 1927-28 BY STANDARD MÖBEL; NICKEL-PLATED TUBULAR STEEL FRAME, MOUNTED WITH DOMED HEXAGONAL BOLTS, SLUNG WITH
STRIPS OF EISENGARN
283/4 IN. (73 CM) HIGH
ESTIMATE: $35,000-45,000
LITERATURE
MARIAN PAGE, FURNITURE DESIGNED
BY ARCHITECTS, WHITNEY LIBRARY
OF DESIGN, 1980, P. 169
CHRISTOPHER WILK,
MARCEL BREUER. FURNITURE AND INTERIORS, NEW YORK,
1981, PP. 37-40, 23-25
SEE ALSO: MAGDALENA DROSTE, MARCEL BREUER, COLOGNE, 1994, P. 62, PL. (D)
IN 1925 BREUER STARTED TO DEVELOP THE DESIGN THAT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE "B3" OR "WASSILY CHAIR." "IN FACT," HE EXPLAINED, "I TOOK THE PIPE DIMENSIONS (APPROXIMATELY TWENTY MILLIMETRES IN DIAMETER) FROM MY BICYCLE. I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO GET IT OR HOW TO FIGURE IT OUT." THE CHAIR DEVELOPED FROM THE FIRST VERSION, WHICH CONNECTED THE LEGS EITHER SIDE IN A RUNNER OR SLED ARRANGEMENT, TO THE DEFINITIVE VERSION, REPRESENTED IN THE PRESENT LOT, IN WHICH THE BACK UPRIGHTS ARE CONNECTED IN AN UNBROKEN DESIGN.
IN 1927 BREUER WROTE: "TWO YEARS AGO WHEN I SAW THE FINISHED VERSION OF MY FIRST STEEL CLUB ARMCHAIR, I THOUGHT THAT THIS OUT OF ALL MY WORK WOULD BRING ME THE MOST CRITICISM. IT IS MY MOST EXTREME WORK BOTH IN ITS OUTWARD APPEARANCE AND IN THE USE OF MATERIALS; IT IS THE LEAST ARTISTIC, THE MOST LOGICAL, THE LEAST 'COSY' AND THE MOST MECHANICAL."
IN 1926 BREUER HAD APPLIED FOR A GEBRAUCHSMUSTER (DESIGN REGISTRATION) FOR SEVEN DESIGNS - A STOOL, CLUB ARMCHAIR, FOLDING CLUB ARMCHAIR, SIDE CHAIR, SIDE CHAIR WITH ARMS, THEATRE SEATING UNIT AND DRAWING TABLE. THESE DESIGNS WERE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FIRST STANDARD MÖBEL CATALOGUE ABOUT A YEAR LATER. STANDARD MÖBEL WAS SET UP IN LATE 1926-EARLY 1927 BY FELLOW HUNGARIAN ARCHITECT KALMAN LENGEL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BREUER. ALL MODEL NUMBERS IN THIS CATALOGUE WERE PREFIXED WITH A B. THERE WERE EIGHT IN ALL, THOSE LISTED ABOVE PLUS A VARIANT OF THE THEATRE SEATING.
THE COMPANY'S FINANCIAL SITUATION WAS PRECARIOUS AND BREUER WAS ENCOURAGED BY LENGEL AND NEW PARTNER LORENZ TO SIGN OVER THE RIGHTS TO HIS DESIGNS TO BE PRODUCED BY THEM TO SAVE STANDARD MÖBEL. THEY, HOWEVER, CHOSE TO PRODUCE A FEW OF THE ITEMS FROM THE ORIGINAL CATALOGUE AND DID NOT EVEN CONSIDER PUTTING ANY OF BREUER'S NEW DESIGNS INTO PRODUCTION. BREUER THEREFORE BEGAN IN LATE 1928 NEGOTIATIONS WITH GEBRÜDER THONET AND BY EARLY 1929 THEY WERE ADVERTISING HIS DESIGNS. THERE WAS A PERIOD WHEN BOTH COMPANIES WERE PRODUCING SOME OF THE SAME DESIGNS BY BREUER, AND STANDARD MÖBEL WAS CERTAINLY PRODUCING THE B3 IN NOVEMBER 1928. IT WAS NOT UNTIL APRIL 11, 1929, THAT THONET PURCHASED STANDARD MÖBEL FROM LORENZ.