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The Chieftain and the Chair
The Chieftain and the Chair: The Rise of Danish Design in Postwar America | Maggie Taft
1 post | 1 read
"In this lively book, Maggie Taft tells the story of how Danish modern furniture emerged in the wake of WWII and became all the rage in the US. By the 1950s Danish Modern furniture was everywhere-in living rooms and on the political stage. A Danish Modern chair was chosen for the first televised presidential debate, in 1960, between JFK and Richard Nixon. When the broadcast began, there were Nixon and Kennedy, sleekly seated in Hans Wegner's "Round Chair." Thanks to that broadcast, an international star, nicknamed simply "the Chair," was born. The story of Danish Modern that Taft tells is anchored in the biographies of two notable chairs: "the Chair" and another one known rather grandly as "The Chieftain" (based on Viking folklore) designed by Finn Juhl. Like Nixon and Kennedy, like Buckley and Vidal, like Elvis and the Beatles, these chairs and their designers and manufacturers duked it out for the hearts and minds and rumps of Americans sitting in front of their TV sets, drinking cocktails, getting frisky on the Danish sofas in their living rooms (and, yes, Mad Men fans, in their offices). These chairs serve as the opportunity for Taft to tell the broader tale of our love affair with Danish Modern-and with our continuing admiration for the innovative style of the early postwar period"--
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annamatopoetry
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Mehso-so

On the one hand: a nice little book that narrates to origin of mid century Danish design's popularity in the US and across the world through through the lense of two chair designs. On the other, the size (smol, not coffee table) and length (short, not a standard non fiction book) makes me wander where it fits outside of museum gift stores. I'd prefer more and larger pictures or more in-depth text (also not 100% on the translation of some terms.)