CHARLES ZUBLENA
Cabinetmaker and Designer
4 April 1910−27 October 1979
Charles (Carlo) Zublena, of Italian origin, was born on 4 April 1910 in the village of Viverone, on the shores of Piedmont’s third-largest lake, which is unique for being home to a group of underwater pile dwellings.
He began training as a cabinetmaker from a young age: by day at the workbench, by night in books, through which he learned the history of furniture styles and industry. In 1930 he emigrated to France and found his first employment with an artisanal cabinetmaker in Levallois-Perret, before striking out on his own. To complete his professional education, he took night classes at the École Boulle.
In 1933 he married the Italian Elda Grassis, with whom he had two children, Aymeric (Americo) and, soon after, Jean-Pierre. On 5 September 1939 he voluntarily enlisted in the French Army. After his demobilisation, he opened his own workshop in Paris’s 11th Arrondissement, in the extraordinary confines of the “Rue des Immeubles Industriels” that housed numerous artisans involved in furniture production.
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ISBN: 9788836662319
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