Beech armchair with upholstered back and loose seat cushion, Parker Knoll Langford PK733.
Identifier
FPF453
Title
Beech armchair with upholstered back and loose seat cushion, Parker Knoll Langford PK733.
Date
Designed in 1952-1955, this model dated 1994.
Description
Beech armchair with upholstered back and loose seat cushion, Parker Knoll Langford PK733.
Full Description
This beech armchair has a fully upholstered back and a loose seat cushion. There are Parker Knoll tension springs in the back and under the seat. The arms are flat and rest on straight supports which extend from the front legs. All the legs are tapered and the back legs are slightly raked. The upholstery and cover are original.
This Langford chair was designed in the early 1950s once the Utility restrictions had been completely lifted. The designer was Geoffrey Alpe, son-in-law to Thomas Cornwell Parker (b. 1881), the youngest son of Frederick Parker, the founder. Alpe had joined the firm in 1946 and the Langford was one of several chairs which went into production in the 1960s and remained popular well into the 1990s (Bland, 1995). The original cutting plan for the Langford covers survive and the chair is featured in sales brochures of the 1960s and later (Parker Knoll Archive).
The clean and simple lines of the Langford proved enduringly popular. The chair’s compact size made it very suitable for the contract market, where it was used for furnishing hotels, clubs and restaurants in the 1960s and later for hospitals and clinics in the 1980s and 1990s. Other than the necessary changes to fabric and fillings to comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations of 1988, the design remained more or less unmodified throughout its production.
The chair is marked on the seat rails with the Parker Knoll logo, copyright stamp, model number and inspection stamp, dated 1994. This latter would have been applied at the frame making stage, before polishing.
This Langford chair was designed in the early 1950s once the Utility restrictions had been completely lifted. The designer was Geoffrey Alpe, son-in-law to Thomas Cornwell Parker (b. 1881), the youngest son of Frederick Parker, the founder. Alpe had joined the firm in 1946 and the Langford was one of several chairs which went into production in the 1960s and remained popular well into the 1990s (Bland, 1995). The original cutting plan for the Langford covers survive and the chair is featured in sales brochures of the 1960s and later (Parker Knoll Archive).
The clean and simple lines of the Langford proved enduringly popular. The chair’s compact size made it very suitable for the contract market, where it was used for furnishing hotels, clubs and restaurants in the 1960s and later for hospitals and clinics in the 1980s and 1990s. Other than the necessary changes to fabric and fillings to comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations of 1988, the design remained more or less unmodified throughout its production.
The chair is marked on the seat rails with the Parker Knoll logo, copyright stamp, model number and inspection stamp, dated 1994. This latter would have been applied at the frame making stage, before polishing.
Condition
Good.
Materials
Beech.
Steel tension springs.
Upholstery.
Steel tension springs.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 81
W. 61
D. 66
W. 61
D. 66
Marks
‘Parker Knoll design copyright M PK 733’ and ‘Inspected 4 July 1994 Mr Morley’ marked on seat rails.
Parker Numbers
PK733.
Provenance
Acquired for the Collection by Jonathan Arnold, c.2000.
Notes
Stephen Bland, Take A Seat: the Story of Parker Knoll 1834-1994, Baron, 1995, p.152.
Parker Knoll Archive, London Metropolitan University:
Cutting plan for PK733 - 1953
Parker Knoll Book of Comfort – 1963/4
Parker Knoll Chairs and Settees – 1969
Correspondence in 2002-3 with Richard Ranklin, former Parker Knoll employee.
Parker Knoll Archive, London Metropolitan University:
Cutting plan for PK733 - 1953
Parker Knoll Book of Comfort – 1963/4
Parker Knoll Chairs and Settees – 1969
Correspondence in 2002-3 with Richard Ranklin, former Parker Knoll employee.
