Gerald Summers Dining Table - Made by Makers of Simple Furniture (1931-1940)

Gerald Summers Dining Table  - Made by Makers of Simple Furniture (1931-1940).

Circa 1935.

Birch Plywood.

This delightful and practical folding dining table was made for the Show Home at the Frinton Park Estate which was designed by the Architect Oliver Hill. This was a Modernist self-contained seaside estate of 200 acres. Each site was planned to give un-interrupted views over the cliffs to the sea and the Show Home had a wide curved window on both the ground and upper floor with sweeping views over the water.

The most innovative designer in Britain in the 1930's Gerald Summers' significance is only now being appreciated as emphasis has heretofore been placed upon the achievements of European and Scandinavian designers and because 'Makers of Simple Furniture' was a small company, producing mainly to order, without the publicity machine of larger workshops.

Originally offered through Heals, Harrods and select department stores in the US, examples of Summers' designs are now held by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Vitra Design Museum in Germany.

This table is featured together with other Summers' designs at the Frinton Park Estate Show Home in the "Home of the Month" article - October 1935 issue of The English Home

Bibliography:
The Design History Journal 1992 Vol.5 No.3 - precis of Masters' thesis by Martha Deese, Metropolitan Museum New York.
Design for Today 1934.
100 Masterpieces Vitra Design Museum.
Furnishing the small Home published London and New York 1930's by the Studio Ltd.
A History of British Design 1839-1970 Fiona McCarthy pub.1972.
Bent Wood and Metal Furniture 1850-1946 University of Washington Press edited by Derek E. Ostergard.

Museums & Exhibitions:
Victoria & Albert Museum: Summers work is now included in the new 20th Century Furniture Galleries which opened at the V & A in November, 2012.
Museum of Modern Art, New York 2014 Exhibition: The Magic of Plywood.
Metropolitan Museum, New York.
Vitra Design Museum.
Thirties British Art and Design before the War organized by the Arts Council of Great Britain, London 1979.
'Constructivism in Art & Design' Crafts Council Gallery, London 1988.

Dimensions

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

Stock number