LONDON
쑯
MALLETT
NEW YORK
A PAUL LÁZSLÓ ROSEWOOD AND GREY SYCAMORE DESK
89
A nine drawer desk in Indian rosewood and grey sycamore. Inside of drawers in natural white sycamore, original white leather top. Eight silver-plated steel capped feet and two silver-plated and steel plated top drawers. Metal plaque inside one drawer bearing the inscription: Laszlo Inc. Beverly Hills. Matching chair in grey sycamore and black leatherette. America, circa 1950 Height: 28½in (72cm) Width: 80in (203cm) Depth: 24in (61cm) F3A0251
Paul László (1900-1993) was a Hungarian-born modern architect and interior designer who built his reputation while designing interiors for houses, but in the 1960s, largely shifted his focus to the design of retail and commercial interiors. László completed his education in Vienna before moving to Stuttgart, where he rapidly established himself as a prominent designer. He then established an office in Beverly Hills, where he was popular with the wealthy political and acting elite, including Ronald Reagan, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, and the Vanderbilts. His opulent but never over stated designs were executed with impeccable taste. He would design all aspects including furniture, fabrics, drapes, rugs, lamps, and other fixtures. In 1948, László joined with George Nelson, Charles Eames and Isamu Noguchi to design
for the Herman Miller company. The furniture lines presented by Herman Miller from 1948 have been called the most influential groups of furniture ever manufactured. Time magazine (August 18, 1952) described him as “the Millionaire’s Architect”. He had an ability to combine colours which might seem irreconcilable, yet when seen as a whole, were incredibly warm and beautiful. It was this use of colour along with the large scale but gentle and
flowing lines to his designs and the integration of an entire project which made his work memorable. His designs were uniformly simple, but never simplistic. His work is occasionally displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and is frequently seen in national and international retrospectives on 20th century design. In 1854, Eli Terry, Jr. formed the Eagle Lock Company. It
became a major enterprise and the main industry of Terryville, CT. In the late 1800’s two dams were constructed to hold water from the Pequabuck River to help provide power for the lock factory. Eagle Locks eventually enjoyed a worldwide reputation and employed 1800 persons at its peak. The Eagle Lock Company was active until it closed in 1975. The Lock Museum of America now resides in Terryville, CT.