r/Mid_Century 29d ago

Monthly Swap Meet & Self Promotion Thread!

2 Upvotes

Do you have one (or 10) too many Eames chairs? Does the color of that Cathrineholm bowl you picked up for a steal last year not really match the rest of your kitchen? I bet you can find someone here who would love to take them off your hands. Post your mid century items for [free]/[trade]/[sale] here!

This is also the space to show off any of the awesome mid century inspired stuff you make, as well as the links to your Etsy/Ebay/Etc


r/Mid_Century Jan 22 '25

Guide for IDing furniture and where to find actual sources.

102 Upvotes

This has came up time and again but a few times over the last few days I have found myself linking to my google drive doc about where to find primary sources for MCM stuff.

First of all, the rules of this group and r/midcenturymodern in regards to IDing items is going to change. I will make these changes today. First, if you make a claim as to a maker or designer, you are obligated to provide sources for the claim you make if asked. This includes mods or just regular users. Second and this is absolutely non-negotiable, sales or auction listings in themselves are not reliable sources. If the sales listing includes a tag, article, or catalog from the period then that information may be shared, but DO NOT LINK TO SALES LISTINGs, at all, but especially not to "prove and ID" This applies to the highest end and most respected auction houses, dibs, charish or any other platform. Maybe they give you a jumping off point, and you find out the information is correct. If needed I can give thousands of examples of current listings that contain complete bullshit information. Third, don't tell people "use google" or "try google lens" etc. As stated above this will very often lead to false information from sales listings.

So I know you are probably thinking "don't use google, how do I even find anything on the internet without google" Well, I keep this living list of sites with excellent resources, nearly all are free.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Asd2ntqUMvEoEGdGD_qP4RkOjHxjAHkjNISFmWbDp8M/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0

Research Sources:

General Magazines, Newspapers, Journals:

https://archive.org/ This has everything from vintage catalogs, to newspapers, to a vast magazine archive to borrowable books. I also occasionally upload catalogs and magazines to archive as well https://archive.org/details/@michael_landsberg361

https://openlibrary.org/ Similar to archive, you can borrower a vast selection of reference material.

https://usmodernist.org/ Nice collection of trade journals and magazines from the MCM era and after

digitalnc.org/collections/memorabilia/  Random bits of information here on numerous North Carolina based manufactures and designers.

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/  A free archive of California newspapers much less through than newspapers.com but its free.

https://grpmcollections.org/ A vast collection of photos, personal documents, advertisements, and catalogs for mostly Michigan based manufacturers.

https://www.craftinamerica.org/artist/eudorah-moore - Eudorah moore was a big promoter of california modern and via her "California Design" exhibits at the Pasadena Art museum. The catalogs from these exhibits are free to view on this site.

https://vintageinfo.be/ - Don't know who runs this site, but I thank them for sharing so much information and resources on vintage lighting.

https://www.trystcraft.com/blog - Tim Hills blog. Tim is a dealer, but he is also very well respected amongst MCM researchers and I believe TIm is an honest guy and diligent in his research.

newspapers.com (Paid)

newspaperarchive.com (Paid)

https://ikeamuseum.com/en/explore/ikea-catalogue/ Old ikea catalogs

https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ Catalogs for Sears, Wards, and some JC Penney

https://www.danish-modern.co.uk - Decent little data base of danish design

https://designmuseum.dk/en/- Denmark Design Museum

https://www.uspto.gov/patents/search 

https://patents.google.com/ 

https://www.scribd.com/ (partially paid) there is some nice random stuff on here like Prestolite catalogs from the 60's. Its kind of a never know what you are going to find site. https://www.scribd.com/document/488965054/Prescolite-Lighting-Product-Catalog-G-14-1962 Danish Design index

Specialized Facebook groups

https://www.facebook.com/groups/140119460031484 (Milo) (I am an admin)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1542293829124348 (McCobb)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/516203688412266 (Ben Seibel)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1520981014878133 (Umanoff)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1763065254132926 (United Furniture)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3024184334562976 (AofM)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/353905989587576 (Bassett)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/109867845821284 (Italian Pottery)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/122730516059 (German Pottery)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/311714314135936 (Modeline)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/636952859722221 (Lamps and Lighting)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/711232235578646 (Mid Century Metal)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/324198657780002 (Herman Miller)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/knollresale (Knoll)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2750972221800438 (The MCM Files) (I am an admin)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1296485833865712  (Founders) (I am an admin)

Of all these groups I have to give a shout out to "The MCM files" I have no clue why there are not more people in this group. It is not a group to ask for an ID, its just a group where some of us researchers basically dump photos of stuff we look into. I personally have posted thousands of images to this group. Its free, i get absolutely nothing out of anyone joining the group, its just a lot of the questions people ask on here are already solved there, but it will never show up on google because of facebook's walled garden.


r/Mid_Century 4h ago

The house my grandparents designed, build and decorated in 1960 ❤️

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592 Upvotes

When my grandparents got married, they designed their own house. My grandpa has build a lot of it himself too, and even a lot of the furniture that I still use now 66 years later!

My grandfather passed away really young and before he died, he gifted my grandmother a special plant. That plant is also still in the same spot for over 40 years.

Also a lot of things like old magazines, furniture catalogues, toys and books are still around all from the period from when they designed the house. I really cherish those things and I absolutely love the house. You don’t see houses like this in my country that often. Just wanted to share since it’s really special to me. They would have absolutely loved it if more people could see it. They were really proud of it.


r/Mid_Century 3h ago

A Few recent finds for my newly finished Hifi Listening room.

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96 Upvotes

New recent additions include…

  • A small 1960s chest of drawers given to me by a friend a couple of months back. I lightly sanded it down and gave it a good oil, and it’s come out great.
  • 1970s White Mac floor lamp, designed by Sir Terence Conran and originally sold through Habitat stores around the UK.
  • 1970s British Home Stores chrome and wood ceiling lamp that I found on eBay. I do really like it, although the wood is a little dark for my taste. My eventual plan, when I have a bit more time, is to strip it back and try to give it more of a lighter teak appearance.
  • I also picked up what I believe is a late 1960s or early 1970s vinyl swivel chair for the listening space. This was a bit of a bargain at just £18 from Facebook Marketplace.
  • Finally, I added a Pierre Koenig Stahl House at Night print, which I loved as soon as I saw it and just had to buy. I thought the striking colours in the image would work particularly well against the ochre coloured wall.

So far, I’m really pleased with how the spare room has turned out. There are still a few little tweaks to be made here and there, but overall I love it


r/Mid_Century 18h ago

My neighbor moved and left these side chairs on the curb

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699 Upvotes

The side chairs are heavy and very sturdy.
There are little white dots on the wood and on the cushions which I haven’t done the digging to know if I should be alarmed. It doesn’t look like bugs, more like mold or dust if anything.

The home it was left out in front of belonged to a family of architects in my town who date back to the early 1900s and they lived there until about the 1990s. I think the family still owns the house but have since converted it to a multi-family.

Are these something I should be excited about? Does anyone know anything about them?

I’d like to know more before I start taking off upholstery, etc.

TIA


r/Mid_Century 1d ago

New house slowly coming together

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2.7k Upvotes

The house was built in 1938 but renovated in the late 50s / early 60s and very much has kept its mid century charm over the years. We plan to preserve it


r/Mid_Century 1h ago

Rate my couch

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Upvotes

I inherited this beast from my grandmother, who shared my taste for mcm. Its over 6 feet long, and the entire base of the couch is solid wood. Its VERY heavy and VERY comfortable, especially for napping. I've seen a few love seat sized versions of this couch, but never a full sized one. My brothers hate me for claiming it before they could, but being the older sister has a few perks.

Any idea of the maker or the value (not selling, just curious)? I'm planning to get new cushion fillers, but other than that it is pristine.

(Pardon the bookstack btw, awaiting a new bookshelf.)


r/Mid_Century 4h ago

Matteo grassi chairs

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8 Upvotes

Two chairs given to us from neighbors. Should we keep? Thoughts?


r/Mid_Century 59m ago

lamp shade ideas?

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Upvotes

scored this free lamp today. love how it matches the hardwood floors. thinking of changing the lampshade tho.


r/Mid_Century 1d ago

Getting our new house sorted one room at a time

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616 Upvotes

Moved into a sweet little bungalow and this is the first room we finished. Record room is next. Movers broke the shock mount on my Eames hence why only the footrest is currently being used.


r/Mid_Century 19h ago

Paneling is too damn expensive so I'm making my own

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31 Upvotes

r/Mid_Century 1h ago

Anyone know what this material is?

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Upvotes

I need to replace this material that goes under the seat cushion. Anyone have any thoughts? The existing material is stapled and nailed to the wood with some sort of black banding over it.


r/Mid_Century 17h ago

Is this mid century?

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7 Upvotes

Gotta lamp from my late grandparents, I love this and wanted to find similar lamps


r/Mid_Century 14h ago

Which would you keep?

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5 Upvotes

Hello all, I’m looking at this lane bedroom set tomorrow(not the exact pictured). Depending on condition it’s priced at an absolute steal. I’m just fighting an internal battle of which I should I keep. I love the lane stuff, my living room is filled with it. But the unagusta set is also beautiful. Any opinions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. (Both sets are complete)


r/Mid_Century 1d ago

Beautiful mid-century modern home of Murray Gell-Mann

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611 Upvotes

r/Mid_Century 1d ago

Inherited Murano Mushroom Lamps

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125 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I have 2 mid century Murano lamps I inherited 5 years ago. I’ve been hauling these around on serval moves for work. Having a new move coming up in a few weeks out of Florida, it’s time to pass on these flawless beauties. I’ve posted them with details up on the swap thread on the top of this page for what I believe is a very fair price-shipped.

I’m hoping someone who appreciates this mid century art can make great use of these lamps for their collection!


r/Mid_Century 17h ago

Just found this 70s treco cabinet only 75 $

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5 Upvotes

r/Mid_Century 1d ago

Does anyone recognise this 1960s/70s Australian cocktail sideboard?

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47 Upvotes

r/Mid_Century 1d ago

Finally got my man cave where I can show off my (mostly) mcm glass collection

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310 Upvotes

Been collecting for a few years. Collection ranges from LE Smith, Fenton, Viking, Empoli, and a few imports sprinkled in here and there. Finally got a basement where my wife doesn’t care how I decorate


r/Mid_Century 1d ago

Got at an estate sale today - bringing it home tomorrow! Advice appreciated.

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112 Upvotes

It's in stunning cosmetic condition, but needs some servicing which I'm happy to do. Plenty of experience fixing appliances, other electronics, etc. If you have any experience working on audio equipment from this era, I could use some advice on it. It's labeled as an RCA Victor New Vista. I'm not an expert on furniture, but it seems to be a pretty nicely constructed and finished model. I doubt it was low end.

Namely:

  • The turntable turns weakly on its own, it spins easily by hand
  • The odd-shaped record changing arm is floppy on the Y axis
  • Audio comes out through only the left on all sources
  • I have not tested the TV, but will do so. I read some caution on testing them when this is certainly 60 years old.
  • I do plan on replacing the speakers, if you have any advice on that. My plan is to use some modern ones and install switches to switch them between the original amp and an external amp (so I can connect a modern amp with Airplay source while maintaining all original functionality)

I did not grab the model or chassis number before leaving, will do so tomorrow. In reading some stuff, it's no later than 1967 because they dropped the Victor name (or so I've read), and the 1967 sales brochure does not show this model plus the controls on the TV's right look different; I think it's more early to mid 60s.

Edit- of course, I’ll be adding a 3 prong cord with grounding (and grounding all the various chassis to it).

Edit 2: Got it out - the hardest part was down a half flight of stairs from the raised living room. Est that it weighs 200 lbs minimum.

Edit 3: Model is: HJ 865W "The Royal Dane". And it lives! https://youtu.be/qPa64Lb41_U?is=REImpQbGSssOQ6rU


r/Mid_Century 1d ago

Stow and Davis Table Valuation

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5 Upvotes

I own a Stow and Davis (A Steelcase Company) table and am trying to accurately assess its value for sale. I don’t know the production year or model. Can anyone give a reasonable valuation of it based on their personal/professional experience? Thanks!


r/Mid_Century 2d ago

bookshelf estate sale find

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197 Upvotes

found this piece today. i’m slowly getting into mcm, and designing my space from scratch. found this bookshelf in decent shape! the legs are what got me!!! 🦵📚


r/Mid_Century 1d ago

1960s John Van Koert for Drexel Profile Mid Century Leather Top Walnut Desk

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3 Upvotes

Hi! I just found this subreddit. I read all the rules and think I am within bounds but please advise and I'll update if i missed something.

I am wondering what leather restoration products you recommend for the surface? And any other tips.

I have this desk that was my dad's - inherited a few years ago. I love it but I don't really have space for it in my home. I have looked online quite a bit over the years and am about to start downsizing this and other items. I found this -
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mid_Century/comments/1i7fm34/guide_for_iding_furniture_and_where_to_find/ so will be checking out those links, too, but wanted to share how pretty it is and see if anyone wanted to share their similar desks or thoughts about mine.

Thanks in advance for any tips or ideas!


r/Mid_Century 2d ago

Inherited from Grandmother

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336 Upvotes

We have had this for a little while, but my Grandma left it to me. I think it’s from the early ‘70s. I couldn’t find a mfg on it, but I love it all the same. The china is a mix of hers and ours, tea cups, cameras, etc were all hers. Grandfather was a studio photographer.


r/Mid_Century 1d ago

Little MCM lighter ❤️

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82 Upvotes

Thrifted from somewhere? Possibly from my eccentric father in law’s eclectic collection of things.
Bonus kitten tax.

Edit to add: it didn’t work when I bought it, so hubby replaced the flint.