After 70 Years, You Can Finally Buy a Huntsman Chair
The ins and outs of a design icon that Carl Hansen & Søn brought back to life
Børge Mogensen isn’t the father of mid-century Danish furniture design, but he was one of its earliest practitioners, shaping the functionalist aesthetic that we covet today. But the man had style, too – just look at his Huntsman chair. Designed for the 1950 Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibition, it paired smoked oak with a saddle-leather seat and backrest, both held taut with brass buckles and brackets. In an era of Scandinavian restraint, it had a touch of rugged swagger.
Now available in oak or walnut with black, cognac or natural leather, the modern Huntsman chair lives up to its predecessor – for a fee: $3600. Why so steep? “I didn’t understand the depth of what was there until I got my hands on it,” says Stefan Sybydlo, owner of Bulthaup Toronto, a dealer of Carl Hansen & Søn. “The calibre of the leather is extraordinary.”
How do you know you’re buying the real deal? In addition to the leather, look to the mortise and tenon joints: they demand a level of hands-on craftsmanship rarely seen in replicas. If you’re still in doubt, the Huntsman’s front stretcher has a small plate with its serial number. CARLHANSEN.COM; TORONTO.BULTHAUP.COM
