Early Ralph Rapson Rocker for Knoll
United States
circa 1948
Rocker designed by Minneapolis-based architect Ralph Rapson. Part of a line of chairs designed for Knoll and produced for a short time just after WWII. Rapson was a student at Cranbrook and contemporary of Charles Eames, Florence Schust (Knoll) and Eero Saarinen, for whom he briefly worked. He taught at MIT and practiced in Boston until 1954, when he moved to Minnesota. The rocker is his iconic furniture design, but is rare to the market in either its webbed or upholstered versions. The present chair has a birch frame and is re-webbed using Knoll cotton webbing.
Fine overall condition. The frame has been lightly refurbished but shows variegation and signs of age, especially discoloration along a back rail (see photos.). The webbing is new.
United States
circa 1948
Rocker designed by Minneapolis-based architect Ralph Rapson. Part of a line of chairs designed for Knoll and produced for a short time just after WWII. Rapson was a student at Cranbrook and contemporary of Charles Eames, Florence Schust (Knoll) and Eero Saarinen, for whom he briefly worked. He taught at MIT and practiced in Boston until 1954, when he moved to Minnesota. The rocker is his iconic furniture design, but is rare to the market in either its webbed or upholstered versions. The present chair has a birch frame and is re-webbed using Knoll cotton webbing.
Fine overall condition. The frame has been lightly refurbished but shows variegation and signs of age, especially discoloration along a back rail (see photos.). The webbing is new.
United States
circa 1948
Rocker designed by Minneapolis-based architect Ralph Rapson. Part of a line of chairs designed for Knoll and produced for a short time just after WWII. Rapson was a student at Cranbrook and contemporary of Charles Eames, Florence Schust (Knoll) and Eero Saarinen, for whom he briefly worked. He taught at MIT and practiced in Boston until 1954, when he moved to Minnesota. The rocker is his iconic furniture design, but is rare to the market in either its webbed or upholstered versions. The present chair has a birch frame and is re-webbed using Knoll cotton webbing.
Fine overall condition. The frame has been lightly refurbished but shows variegation and signs of age, especially discoloration along a back rail (see photos.). The webbing is new.