Armchair with wooden arms and upholstered seat cushion and back, Parker Knoll model PK199.
Identifier
FPF449
Title
Armchair with wooden arms and upholstered seat cushion and back, Parker Knoll model PK199.
Date
Designed 1935-1940, this model probably made 1960-1980.
Description
Armchair with wooden arms and upholstered seat cushion and back, made by Parker Knoll, model PK199.
Full Description
This armchair has a wooden frame, probably of beech or birch. The exposed wood on the arms and legs has been stained dark brown, resembling mahogany. The gently curved back is fully upholstered and the seat has Parker Knoll tension springs under a loose upholstered cushion. The wooden arms are shaped and curved, and rest on supports which are continuous with the front legs. The back legs are flared. The chair appears to have been recovered in a modern synthetic fabric, and the webbing for the springs also appears to have been replaced, while the springs are likely to be original. The tension springs were first introduced by Parker Knoll in 1931-2 (Bland, 1995)
The 199 chair was made by Parker Knoll from just before WWII and continued in production in the post-war period. The straightforward, unornamented design places it firmly in the category of more modernist designs which were gaining popularity in the 1930s. Parker Knoll and other furniture companies were increasingly producing this style of furniture alongside reproduction models from earlier periods. Under the restrictions on design and manufacture imposed by the Utility scheme introduced in 1942, furniture of this type, using minimal materials, became the standard.
The Parker Knoll patent number, which is visible on the chair rail, is the same as that on the PK36 model (FPF450 in the Frederick Parker Collection).
The 199 chair was made by Parker Knoll from just before WWII and continued in production in the post-war period. The straightforward, unornamented design places it firmly in the category of more modernist designs which were gaining popularity in the 1930s. Parker Knoll and other furniture companies were increasingly producing this style of furniture alongside reproduction models from earlier periods. Under the restrictions on design and manufacture imposed by the Utility scheme introduced in 1942, furniture of this type, using minimal materials, became the standard.
The Parker Knoll patent number, which is visible on the chair rail, is the same as that on the PK36 model (FPF450 in the Frederick Parker Collection).
Condition
Possible repairs to both back legs.
The frame has marks and scuffs.
The upholstery is possibly not original; some of the webbing supporting the springs appears to be a later replacement.
The frame has marks and scuffs.
The upholstery is possibly not original; some of the webbing supporting the springs appears to be a later replacement.
Materials
Beech or birch probably.
Steel tension springs.
Upholstery.
Steel tension springs.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 92
W. 66
D. 89
W. 66
D. 89
Marks
Parker Knoll Patent No 322638 embossed in red on the inside back seat rail.
Parker Knoll name woven into the webbing for the springs.
Parker Knoll name woven into the webbing for the springs.
Parker Numbers
PK199.
Provenance
Acquired for the Collection by Jonathan Arnold, c.2000.
Notes
Greg Stevenson, The 1930s Home, Shire Publications Ltd, 2016.
Stephen Bland, Take a Seat, the Story of Parker Knoll 1834-1994, Baron, 1995, pp. 67-8. See also p. 73 which includes an illustration of a 1975 advertisement for Parker Knoll and PK 199, still in production. For PK Utility chairs see pp.105-7and 113-8.
Stephen Bland, Take a Seat, the Story of Parker Knoll 1834-1994, Baron, 1995, pp. 67-8. See also p. 73 which includes an illustration of a 1975 advertisement for Parker Knoll and PK 199, still in production. For PK Utility chairs see pp.105-7and 113-8.
