Today's auction site artefact is this Basil Spence chair. Not your typical bit of Spencarania! 
"for H. Morris & Co. Allegro armchair, laminated wood and leather upholstery. In 1947 Morris of Glasgow asked Spence to collaborate on a range of plywood furniture, which was to include his Bambi chair and celebrated Cloud table. The result was the Allegro dining suite"
"awarded a diploma by the Council of Industrial Design in January 1949. In March of the same year it was exhibited at the Glasgow Today and Tomorrow, where it was commended, and an example of the armchair was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art, New York"
"In September 1949 it was displayed at the Morris stand, also designed by Spence, at the Scottish Industries Exhibition. In 1951 another single armchair was commissioned for the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum"
"The 'Allegro' range found its origins in wartime innovation. The Southampton-based manufacturer of helicopters Ciervarva Autogiro, developed techniques of laminating and shaping wood to make strong and light helicopter blades - these blades were supplied by Morris of Glasgow"
"the same technology was applied to this remarkable suite of furniture. Over one hundred layers of wood were bonded together under high frequency pressure with phenoformaldehydeyde, a synthetic resin. The wood is then shaped and carved to produce the chairs, table and sideboard."
"Whilst it is acknowledged as a landmark in immediate Post-War British furniture design, the immense expense of this manufacturing process meant that it went into extremely limited production, and as a result examples are extremely rare."
So that explains the auctioneer's estimate of £1,000-£1,500 then!
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
