Folded cardboard tub chair designed by Peter Murdoch.
Identifier
FPF487
Title
Folded cardboard tub chair designed by Peter Murdoch.
Date
Designed in 1964, manufactured c. 1967.
Description
A tub chair folded from a single piece of die-cut cardboard, designed by Peter Murdoch and manufactured in America.
Full Description
This tub chair has a seat, sides and back folded from a single piece of die-cut cardboard to form a continuous curved and flowing chair. The floral print is typical of the 1960s hippy movement. The chair was designed by Peter Murdoch (b. 1940), initially as ‘Child’s Chair’ with a bold polka dot pattern, for his degree show at the Royal College of Art in 1964. He was awarded a travel grant to the US, where he worked with the International Paper Company in North Carolina to develop the design for production, using die-cut laminated paperboard, coated with polyurethane. Plain colours or polka-dot versions were available in two sizes. In 1967 Murdoch sent a batch of Child’s Chairs to London, where they were shown at the Design Centre, but no UK manufacturer would take them on. Examples of the Child’s Chair are in the V&A collection (CIRC.17-1930 and CIRC.18-1970). This chair is similar to the Child’s Chair but is large enough for an adult and was probably made in the US in 1967.
In 1968 Murdoch developed a second design known as ‘The Chair Thing’, which was produced in the UK by Perspective Designs Limited and manufactured by New Merton Board Mills. This design was made from fibreboard and was hexagonal in form, made from three die-cut parts which slotted together. There was a matching table and stool, and the range was marketed under the slogan, ‘This is one of Those Things’. The Chair Thing was successfully mass-produced; the printed board was die-cut and scored at a rate of one per second, and over 76,000 pieces from the range were sold in the UK and abroad within 6 months. It won several design awards, but its appeal proved to be short-lived and manufacturing ceased in the 1970s. Since the cardboard material lacked durability and the chair was designed to be disposable, few examples survive; there is one in the V&A (CIRC.795-1968).
In 1968 Murdoch developed a second design known as ‘The Chair Thing’, which was produced in the UK by Perspective Designs Limited and manufactured by New Merton Board Mills. This design was made from fibreboard and was hexagonal in form, made from three die-cut parts which slotted together. There was a matching table and stool, and the range was marketed under the slogan, ‘This is one of Those Things’. The Chair Thing was successfully mass-produced; the printed board was die-cut and scored at a rate of one per second, and over 76,000 pieces from the range were sold in the UK and abroad within 6 months. It won several design awards, but its appeal proved to be short-lived and manufacturing ceased in the 1970s. Since the cardboard material lacked durability and the chair was designed to be disposable, few examples survive; there is one in the V&A (CIRC.795-1968).
Condition
Light scuff marks around the edges and slight fading of the print in the seat.
Materials
Printed and laminated cardboard
Physical Dimensions
H. 66
W. 53
D. 67
W. 53
D. 67
Provenance
Purchased for the Collection in c.2010 for £450 from a private owner who had bought it in the 1960s.
Notes
Peter Murdoch’s furniture designs are discussed in Lesley Jackson, Modern British Furniture Design since 1945, V&A Publishing, London (2013), pp 195-9.
Other sources are:
Chair Thing | Murdoch, Peter | V&A Explore The Collections
Chair | Murdoch, Peter | V&A Explore The Collections
Peter Murdoch (British, b.1940) (Updated) | tmgb decorative arts & design,llc
Other sources are:
Chair Thing | Murdoch, Peter | V&A Explore The Collections
Chair | Murdoch, Peter | V&A Explore The Collections
Peter Murdoch (British, b.1940) (Updated) | tmgb decorative arts & design,llc
