Jacques Dumond
Table and stool by Jacques Dumond, 1949. Arts et Décoration, 1950. (Photo: Chevojon)
AVAILABLE Jacques Dumond Wall Desk, c. 1960s & Chair, 1951
Esthétique Industrielle, No. 54. Jan. 1952.
36th Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. 20 May - 29 Jun. 1952, Grand Palais, Paris.
36th Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. 20 May - 29 Jun. 1952, Grand Palais, Paris.
AVAILABLE Jacques Dumond Set of Four Bridge Chairs, 1955 & Dining Table, 1955
Dining room of an apartment designed by Jacques Dumond, Algiers, 1955.
Exposition Internationale de l'urbanisme et de l'habitation. 1947, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.
Jacques Dumond at his country house, c. 1968. Photography by Roger Fatus.
Annotations | Jacques Dumond: New Materials
In the aftermath of World War II, French designers and architects were challenged to design accessible furniture using new materials and new technology, as part of the national Reconstruction program to rebuild French society.
There was a pressing need for inexpensive housing and furnishings, yet the design industry lacked the capability to mass produce and materials were very limited in supply. Most metals had been requisitioned for the military industries, but basic species of wood such as oak, ash, and beech were available. Other new materials and techniques were slowly emerging in the late 1940s; these included the use of molded plywood and Formica as well as various laminates derived from plastic.
The Jacques Dumond Table and Stool (1949) are emblematic of their era and style. The rustic look is not an aesthetic choice; but rather the result of a combination of available wood and a semi-industrial production, both allowing for only a simple type of fabrication. The table top in blue Formica and the seat of the stool in lacquered molded plywood showcase this new integration of innovative material with more traditional and natural ones.
This molded plywood seat technique was applied to other chairs by Dumond through 1954, and used in both the design of Dumond’s renowned Chair (1951)—presented at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs of 1952—and the molded back of the Bridge Armchairs (1955).
Regrettably, these models remained rare and never achieved significant mass production by a furniture company. Dumond made these for his own projects and today they are difficult to find.
We never found the stool, only found a few chairs, and even fewer bridge chairs.
