Laverne Tulip Chair, ca. 1960
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GUEST:
I brought this chair that I got at, um, a thrift store, I think in 1995 or 1996.
APPRAISER:
Whereabouts?
GUEST:
In Anchorage, Alaska.
APPRAISER:
Okay, did they tell you anything about the chair?
GUEST:
No, no, it was just a thrift store.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
You know, with a bunch of stuff in there, and I just saw the chair and I fell in love with it and bought it and brought it home. It was, like, $12.50,
APPRAISER:
I think. Well, I need to go to thrift stores with you.
GUEST:
Yes, you do!
APPRAISER:
That's quite a find. This is referred to as a tulip form chair. And the tulip is an organic form that's very popular in design and mid-20th-century furniture, as well as decorative arts. Erwin and Estelle Laverne are the designers of this chair. They met in New York. They married and created a very successful company, producing not only furniture, but textiles and wallpaper, as well. There's some discrepancy about when the chair was made.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
But consensus is between 1957 and 1960. It is made of fiberglass. I want to take a moment just to spin this around so that our viewers can see, see this in its entirety, where you can see... the fiberglass. The base is enameled metal, so very innovative. Fiberglass is really developed in World War II, and postwar furniture design, they incorporated it into furniture, so...
GUEST:
Right. My dad had the first fiberglass boat in Bristol Bay back in the late '50s. So I knew that this was fiberglass.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
But only because of that--otherwise, why would I know? (laughs)
APPRAISER:
Great form, great presence, great stance.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
There are a few condition issues that we could point out, and these really do show. There was a crack right here.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
And you can see also just some little...
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
A few little chips and bangs here and there.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
As well as the base. You can see it around the base, which is normal wear that you're gonna see on a chair...
GUEST:
Yeah, yeah.
APPRAISER:
...that's, really, 60 years old, so, yeah.
GUEST:
We've had it outside a bit. You know, because it was fiberglass. I thought, if the boat can be outside, the chair can be outside, yeah.
APPRAISER:
(laughing) Very durable product, so... In today's world, it's a very desirable chair. At auction, it would realize between $1,000 and $1,500.
GUEST:
Wow, oh, that's great! Well, it is a family heirloom, then.
APPRAISER:
Now it is?
GUEST:
But I think I'll keep it! Yeah. (laughter) Yeah, yeah, it's very comfortable, too. Did you sit in-- would you like to sit in it?
APPRAISER:
I did sit in it.
GUEST:
It's very comfortable.
APPRAISER:
Shall I sit in it?
GUEST:
Yes, please!
APPRAISER:
Thank you.
GUEST:
And it rocks.
APPRAISER:
You can... Yeah.
GUEST:
You look great in that chair!
APPRAISER:
(laughs) It's like I own it.
GUEST:
Wow, with that-- wow.
APPRAISER:
I don't hear that enough.
GUEST:
Oh, man! (laughs)
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