Bertha? Highly unlikely.

Back in 2011, the store was brand new, and we were mainly selling G-Plan credenzas that we picked up for $50 at auction. Upscale pieces were still in our future, and, like most novices in the MCM game, we still believed the incorrect attributions we found online.

In August of that year, I wrote a biographical post about Bertha Schaefer and included photos of the travertine and walnut coffee and end tables that are often attributed to her. Later I became aware of the controversy surrounding those attributions, but I forgot to update my post. Yesterday a blogging friend pointed that out to me, so I removed the photos and want to set the record straight.

Here is the long oval coffee table from the series in question. We had this one in our store until just a few weeks ago, and this photo was featured on Shopseen.

shopseen.com

While many people have searched for evidence that Schaefer designed the group, it seems that all anyone knows for sure is that it was produced by Gordon's of  Johnson City, Tennessee.

designaddict.com

In the store: Bertha Schaefer desk

A year or so ago, we were lucky enough to find a Bertha Schaefer desk. Now we're extremely pleased to have found another one of these sleek beauties designed for Singer & Sons.

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Bertha Schaefer desk

Several weeks ago, my SIL found a desk that he knew was too good to pass up, but it was a much more expensive piece than he had ever bought before. It was a very rare desk designed by Bertha Schaefer for M. Singer & Sons, which was made of Italian walnut, with a single center drawer, a flaring letter tray on top and beautiful tapered legs. (I had actually posted about the same desk months before, never dreaming we would have something of that quality for sale before being in business a year.) Refusing to be deterred by the price, he contacted a well-known Dallas dealer and persuaded him to go 50/50 on the purchase.

The other dealer listed it on 1stdibs, and he just called my SIL to let him know it sold. We're happy about our very profitable partnership!

Bertha Schaefer desk for M. Singer & Sons - SOLD!
collage.1stdibs.com

In the store: Big Bertha's home...along with a mighty large ship

My SIL and daughter brought home a trailer load of great things from Denver, including some pieces won at auction several weeks ago, the white Milo Baughman chair I included in a post about Craigslist finds not long ago, and several more things they located while they were there.

The Bertha Schaefer sofa is finally home, and with it is a large, signed C. Jere' ship.  I'll save two pieces of mirrored wall decor that appear to be in the style of Neal Small (but not confirmed as such yet), a Herman Miller tulip table, a pair of Tapio Wirkkala vases, a 41" architectural swung vase, the Baughman chair (plus two more he got from the same seller) and two Danish chairs for later posts, when my SIL has had time to photograph everything.

He says pictures don't do the sofa justice, and he's absolutely in love with the big ship!

The Bertha Schaefer sofa, in all her glory

Signed C. Jere' ship

Another new set on the floor is this teak dining table and four matching chairs with original blue velvet upholstery. They didn't come from Denver, but from a local auction.

Teak gateleg table and four chairs

Bertha Schaefer

Bertha Schaefer (1895-1971) was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi. She obtained a B.A. from Mississippi State College for Women and a diploma in interior decorating from the Parsons School of Design.

In 1924 she opened Bertha Schaefer Interiors where she worked to incorporate fine arts and architecture with interior design. In 1944 she opened the Bertha Schaefer Gallery of Contemporary Art. Her firm and gallery featured American and European painting and sculpture and was instrumental in launching the careers of many artists and designers.

Her exhibitions often included economical designs that were well-crafted and beautiful and were suited to postwar mass production. In particular, she promoted lighting fixtures, and as early as 1939 was using decorative fluorescent lighting. Her firms work included interior and furniture design for private homes, apartments, hotel lobbies and restaurants. In 1954 she designed a model bathroom for General Electric.

Schaefer's designs caught the attention of Joe Singer of M. Singer and Sons Furniture Company of New York City. She designed furniture for that company from 1950 to 1961, often working with Gio Ponti.

Her professional accomplishments and academic contributions brought her invitations to participate in many round-table discussions and design juries sponsored by museums and universities. She won design awards from the Museum of Modern Art (1952) and the Decorators Club of New York (1959). She was also a member of the American Institute of Decorators, the Home Lighting Forum, the Illuminating Engineers Society, the Architectural League of New York, the American Federation of the Arts and the Art Dealers Association of America.

From jwa.org

Dining set, with Gio Ponti
mutualart.com

Upholstered armchairs
dualmodern.com

Desk
mondocane.com

Coffee table
wright20.com

Coffee table
wright20.com

Sideboard
1stdibs.com

Sofa we just won at auction
It was sold as a Schaefer piece, but we're not sure.

More auction scores

It was a big weekend for auctions. We got back to the store after the local auction I posted about yesterday, only to participate a couple of hours later in another one online. My SIL won so many things that it will probably be just as economical to go pick them up a few states away, since there are several pieces of furniture, one of which is a sofa. I don't think you'll hear my daughter complaining about taking some vacation time and going on a nice trip with hubby and boys. The past few months of getting the store up and running has cut into some of their family time, and this will be a well-deserved getaway for them. (I think they were hoping he'd win the sofa so they'd have an excuse to hitch up the trailer and head out of town.) I'll stay behind and tend the store.

We usually wait till we have things on the floor to show them to you, but we're so excited about some of them that we simply have to give you a preview of the auction house photos.

Signed Hilde Weingarten lithograph "Bright Afternoon"
25" x 21.5"

Signed James Sicner lithograph
24.5" x 20.5

Another signed Sicner lithograph
22.5" x 28"

Massive Fayette floor vase - 41" high

Black lacquer Herman Miller tulip table - 46" round

Upholstered armchairs

Bertha Schaefer attributed sofa
originally purchased at Abraham and Straus

I'm sure you'll see these pieces again when they get to Texas and make their way onto our floor. We're also awaiting the arrival of a couple of Danish chairs my SIL won on another online auction several days ago. He's really been scooping up some great things lately!