Monday, September 2, 2013

Niels O. Moller

Niels Otto Møller (1920-1982) was a Danish designer. Møller completed his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker in 1939 and went on to train at the Danish Design school in Århus, Denmark. He is best known for his elegant, clean-lined furniture in teak and rosewood and for his fine craftsmanship.

Møller designed the No. 71 chair in 1951 and it became one of his most popular designs. He went on to design other dining chairs and tables, coffee tables, sideboards and cabinets and serving carts but the No. 78 chair, launched in 1962, is considered his most impressive design, its subtle and elegant features rendering it a standard for design and quality of production.

In 1944 he founded the J. L. Møller Møbelfabrik in Århus. In the 1960s his sons Jens Ole Møller and Jørgen Henrik Møller completed their training in cabinetmaking and joined the company. It is still run today by Jørgen Henrik Møller. His eldest son Michael has now joined the firm and plans to continue in the business.

His son says, "My father never compromised on anything. When he designed a chair, he would find the materials and then design the furniture. Each design took him five years to complete." As a result, the company has won many awards, including the Danish Furniture Prize in 1974 and 1981.

From jlm.dk,  mid-centuryonline.com, deconet.com and dwr.com 


Model 55 armchair*
1stdibs.com

Model 71*
scandinavianmod.com

Model 78
deconet.com

Model 78 close-up
adoremodern.com

Woven bench
1stdibs.com

Model 20
deconet.com

High back chairs
1stdibs.com

Dining set
1stdibs.com

Tea/dessert cart
laboutiquedanois.fr

*There is some controversy over whether the Model 71 chair and the Model 55 were designed by Møller or by Arne Hovmand-Olsen. I have read that J. L. Møllers Møbelfabrik attributed the designs to each man in different catalogs, although I have not seen actual copies of both catalogs. Credit for the design of both the Model 71 chair and the Model 55 chair in 1951 are both given to N. O. Møller on the current J. L. Møllers Møbelfabrik website under the Products tab.

8 comments:

  1. So nice! Have you considered making a list of designers by country and perhaps grouping them by design style, might be interesting. Maybe checking off each designer when you have sold a piece by them. Wonder which one has sold the most.

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    1. The idea of sorting through almost 1100 posts to make a list sounds like a lot more work than fun. I'll leave that job for someone a lot less lazy that I am. :)

      That reminds me...Is anyone else having trouble with the search feature on your blog? Several times lately I've searched for a particular post that I'm positive I've written, but a search...either by clicking on the keyword link or by typing it into the box...turns up nothing. Every time, I've gone to Google, typed in the keyword + mid2mod, and the post has popped right up. Odd that Google can find something on Blogger, but Blogger can't find it. I keep forgetting to report that little glitch.

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  2. Ohhh I like the model 78's in black and those highbacks.
    Very lovely furniture!

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    1. I like those too. In fact, I think Model 78 may be my favorite of all his designs.

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  3. All I can say is -- Where do you get all the exquisitely beautiful furniture?

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    1. None of these photos are of items in our store, although tomorrow's post will include some Møller chairs we do have for sale. To answer your question, though, my SIL has developed a huge network of pickers, collectors and other dealers to buy from. He checks auctions, Craigslist and estate sale sites religiously, locally and around the country, so he keeps a pretty good finger on the pulse of what is for sale at any given time. And, in addition to that, he has a fantastic eye for great pieces. I give him all the credit.

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  4. The Model 78's look gorgeous. Hmm, the Model 55's look rather strange with those short arms.

    (sorry for the mess, my inner perfectionist had to edit!)

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    1. I deleted your deletion so both our inner perfectionists would be happy. :) I'm not crazy about those short arms either. In fact, those are probably my least favorite of his designs.

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