Kem Weber Airline Chair

Furniture

-

Anytown Museum

Name/Title

Kem Weber Airline Chair

Entry/Object ID

2011.47.1

Description

'Airline chair' designed by Kem Weber, 1934-35, Los Angeles; birch and ash with vinyl upholstery. Cantilevered armchair. The chair has three principal parts: two C-shaped side arm/leg assemblies and a moulded plywood seat, upholstered with 'Naugahyde' PVC imitation leather, which rests of wooden stretchers. Each arm/leg assembly has three pieces: a floor support, an upright and an armrest, joined using mortise and tenon joints. A horizontal strut passes underneath each armrest, strengthening the chair.

Use

Originally designed for Walt Disney Studios

Category

Sitting chair

Acquisition

Accession

2011.47

Furniture Details

Furniture Type

Chair

Furniture Style

Mid-Century Modern

Model/Pattern Name

Airline Chair - made on commission

Made/Created

Manufacturer

Airline Chair Co.

Date made

1934 - 1939

Place

City

Los Angeles

State/Province

California

Country

United States of America

Continent

North America

Notes

1934-1935 (designed) 1939 (made)

Materials

Material

birch, ash, plywood, Naugahyde

Material Notes

Birch and ash, plywood, Naugahyde - PVC upholstery

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Object Label

Label

'AIRLINE' CHAIR Designed by Kem Weber (American, born Germany, 1889-1963) Manufactured by the Airline Chair Co., Los Angeles, California, USA, 1934-5 Birch, ash, vinyl upholstery This example from a screening room at the Walt Disney Studios, California, USA During the 1930s, the concept of aerodynamic 'streamlining' was adapted by American designers for immobile objects as a symbol and style appropriate for the new technologically-driven era. [1997] Weber sought to make 'a comfortable, hygienic, and beautiful chair inexpensively'. The result is a cantilevered design with a visual transparency, knock-down construction and portability. The chair's name was typical of the period in the USA described as 'The Machine Age' and signified nothing more beyond the desire to associate the design with the fastest and most up-to-date product of modern industry. The chair was made for a screening room at the Walt Disney Studios in California. [1995]