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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Harvey Probber

Harvey Probber (1922-2003) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and designed his first sofa at age 16, selling it for $10. By the time he finished high school, he was selling sketches of furniture to companies in Manhattan. Probber was an autodidact, having very little formal training at a time when most designers had formal architectural or art degrees. He did, however, take a few night classes at Pratt Institute and had on-the-job training in furniture production while working for Trade Upholstery.

After serving in the Coast Guard during the 1940s, Probber worked briefly as a cabaret singer, but by 1945 he had opened Harvey Probber, Inc. Realizing that post-war families wanted more flexibility in their homes and their lifestyles, he was the first to introduce modular seating. Probber said in the 1950s that he thought consumers became easily bored with the purity of modern furnishings, so he balanced design with decoration. His pieces had understated modern lines combined with decorative hardware, rare woods and sumptuous upholstery, sometimes in surprisingly bright colors.

Probber was not a household name during his lifetime as were some of his contemporaries, but his furniture is considered highly collectible today.

From latimes.com and lostcityarts.com



Pair of loveseats
danaritenour.com

Credenza
metroretro.com

Lounge chair
treadwaygallery.com

Sectional sofa
machine-age.com

Nuclear coffee table
artnet.com

Rosewood and chrome desk
nohomodern.com

Deep tufted sofa
merrillantiques.com

Cane trimmed credenza
lindaandhowardstern.1stdibs.com

Chaise lounge
dualmodern.com

Club chair
irwinfelddesigns.com

Surfboard coffee table
dualmodern.com

17 comments:

  1. Those credenzas are gorgeous, especially with all of the little extras like the caning, the brass, and the diamond inlays. I really need to find something like that for the living room.

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    1. For some reason, good credenzas are pretty plentiful around here, and we usually have 3 or 4 in the store, but there has been a run on them lately, and we're down to one. It's time for us to round up some more, because people love the things!

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    2. Looks like I need to head down to TX then, as I've yet to find a single on here. I'm not surprised that people are going crazy for them.

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    3. I have three boards full of credenzas on Pinterest that we've sold in the store, if you want to see them "all under one roof," so to speak. It might inspire a road trip, for sure. The only one we have on the floor right now is the Sven Aage Larsen one.

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  2. The rosewood and chrome is wow! The chrome showcases the beautiful wood grain.

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    1. You're going to have to find yourself a desk like that! I remember that you loved the Peter Protzman desk too, which was also chrome and wood.

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    2. Oh, that's right! My attraction for chrome-and-wood is pretty consistent. ( :

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  3. Amazing! It is the contrast between the natural and man made that make the whole more than the parts.

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    1. Speaking of parts, I forgot to mention that the coffee table is in two sections and comes apart to form an S shaped table.

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  4. i love his concept of contrasting elements/material/textures...i could swoop that cane trimmed credenza any day!!

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    1. I love that credenza too. Lately it seems I've really been drawn to all the pieces we get in with cane on them.

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  5. Would love to have the room for either the sectional sofa or the 'tufted' sofa!

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    1. We have a chair in the store right now that is somewhat similar to the tufted sofa, but we haven't figured out the maker yet.

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  6. Love all the pieces! That second credenza looks a lot like the Wythe Craft we have in the store.

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  7. Do you think the one at MetroRetro might have been attributed incorrectly? I went back to the site, and there were no pictures of markings. Usually he's pretty accurate, but we all know that mistakes are made, and then it's like playing the game Pass It On. The mistake just gets perpetuated.

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  8. Love this style of furniture! I work at this awesome vintage store, and the owner and I always get excited when we get things like this in! =)

    http://pinkchampagnefashion.blogspot.com./

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    1. Isn't it fun to work in a vintage store? Every day is Christmas!

      Your site is gorgeous. I love the way you put clothes together!

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