Description

PRICED AT OFFERS OVER $2,850. The OFFERS OVER period will be open for 4 – 5 months whilst this deceased estate gets sorted out. Of course, if a solid offer comes in early this R152 chair will be sold and won’t be seen again. I’ve opted for an OFFERS OVER situation for this because it’s worth more than $2,850 but because it’s part of a deceased estate, we need a result within about 6 – 8 months.

LOCATION- being sold by the Executors Of a Will- the item is part of a deceased estate in BONDI JUNCTION, Sydney. This chair can be transported Australia-wide for a reasonable fee. It would cost ABOUT $240 to get this chair to MELBOURNE or BRISBANE.

Provenance and Background Info

(Written in 2024.)

I think this is one of the best chairs we’ve had in over 23 years of trading (if not, the best) and if it sells for $2,850 it will be one of the best investments we’ve ever offered to our customers. Pretty much irreplaceable and sitting at the absolute pinnacle as far as mid-century Australian design goes, this piece has it ALL … and then some. I want it for myself plus this time, I also have the perfect place for it. If there’s no buyer after about 6 months I’ll buy it myself. I KNOW what this piece is worth and it’s more than $2,850 and I know it’s a GREAT example of the Featherston R152 design.

RARE is an understatement. Stylish is an understatement. Comfortable is an understatement. A dam-good INVESTMENT is an understatement. You’re not buying anything here- you’re INVESTING. There is absolutely no way this piece could ever lose any value at the reserve price. Even at significantly more than this chair WILL NOT lose any value in the future.

How can he be so confident making such bold claims- I hear you ask? Firstly I’ve been in this business for 23 years so I KNOW what Featherston R152 chairs are worth and what they have fetched over the last 23 years. Value trends are not really trends at all- it’s a science and in this game, value (and future value) CAN be predicted if you know what you have (which I do) and you can prove the history (which I can).

The Featherston R152 Contour Chair (designed by Grant Featherston in 1951 / 52), is a design sensation and this particular shape has never been reproduced nor will it ever be (the last part of that statement is my opinion only but I don’t believe I will ever be proven wrong here). The Featherston R160 chair was reproduced in China and has ended up ALL OVER THE WORLD. That happened in the very early-noughties. If they were going to try any of his other designs (including this one), they would have done it by now. They haven’t replicated this design in China for one simple reason- it’s not as “designer-looking” as the R160. The “simplicity” of this design means that I can’t see it ever being “picked-up” by China and being replicated to death … but even if this did happen in the far distant future, this particular R152 chair has something going for it that most in this design doesn’t.

What is that, I hear you ask (you rambling old man)?

The Silky Oak base.

This Silky Oak timber base is ORIGINAL, has never been broken / repaired … PLUS this timber proves the age of this chair. Silky Oak is an AUSTRALIAN timber that’s special and pretty rare. Silky Oak, Silver Oak (or Australian Silver Oak as it sometimes called), is a flowering plant /tree in the family, “Proteaceae”. It’s native to eastern coastal Australia, growing in riverine, subtropical and dry rainforest environments. This timber was predominantly used in art deco times, mainly as window trims (because it is immune to wood rot) as well as in cabinetry and furniture. As far as furniture goes, it was used in Australia mainly from the 1920’s to 1940’s. By the late-1940’s, this timber started to run out (because these trees were obviously NOT replaced when they were initially cut down). Furniture-makers went onto other timbers after the art deco period. Coachwood, Blackwood and teak (that started to be used in the late-1950’s) all replaced Silky Oak. (Teak was mainly imported from South East Asia in the 1960’s). Silky Oak is such a distinctive timber that it was highly-prized (it’s obvious why it was also called “Silver Oak”, it almost shines like Silver. You can see some shiny flecks in these photos.) Silky Oak was still used in the 1950’s but usually in the high-end / special pieces only. This piece qualifies.

Grant Featherston’s Contour chairs shot to instant fame- the acclaim he received for ALL his contour designs was immediate and significant. Featherston later ended up being the most prolific and respected designer this country has ever seen. Most-respected is my opinion only but only a stupid person would try to fight me on that! And to those idiots ready to criticize and destroy me, go for it! I will enter a constructive discussion with you (by phone- call me on the number given in the CONTACT section of my website) or I will tell you to go away (especially if you’re being an arsehole!) :+)

Ok- so it’s the original base in Silky Oak that excites me so much about this particular chair (because this verifies that this R152 chair is a vintage original) PLUS the reupholstery job excites me almost as much. The upholstery job is EXPERT, the fabric choice is PERFECT and the chair does exactly what it’s supposed to do. Be a restrained, stylish piece that is noticed for all the right reasons and isn’t a “loud-mouth” who demands ALL the attention. The fabric choice has flecks of different colours (which was typical of the 1950’s) but the tone is restrained, “modern” and neutral which means it is the shape of the chair that is taking centre-stage here- NOT the upholstery choice. One word of advice to all the dealers out there who get these re-upholstered in red. PLEASE DON’T DO IT or at least choose the right type of upholstery. Red vinyl on Featherston chairs is, in my eyes, is ugly …

and wrong…

Ok, so I’ve digressed yet again. I will tie this up now by re-iterating that this particular Featherston R152 chair is one of the most special chairs iNVISeDGE has EVER stocked (after 23 years of trading). First is a pair of vintage Featherston R160 chairs we had. Second is a vintage Featherston R160 chair I sold from my own collection (reluctantly) after being the custodian of it for about 13 years. If I end up with this R152 chair, it will probably remain in my collection for 13 years or more (so don’t expect to see it on the market again any time soon- that is, if I do get it- but if I don’t, most investors will be hanging onto this one for the long-term … if not the rest of their lives. Investing in mid-century gems such as this Featherston R152 Contour chair is a great way to go. There are very few better ways (none?) that I can think of to invest in your home, invest in a special piece of Australian design history, plus help save our planet. Assigning value to items that deserve to be valued and passed on from this generation to the next (and then the next) is the ONLY way this planet is going to survive. Some people call it “fake news” but I truly believe that we can’t continue to use up our resources like we have been. Chipboard chairs / lounges are being made every second of every day to end up as landfill. It’s a travesty. People please stop  putting your hard-earned dosh into items that are purposely being built to end up as landfill! STOP this insanity now!

I will “finish” this description by adding part of this fascinating entry on the NGV website called, “Grant Featherston’s R152 Contour chair” written by Kirsty Grant on 12 Jun 2014. There’s no point even trying to summarise the most important points of this article. The whole thing is fascinating, deserves to be read and is so well-written no-one in their right mind would even try to write it any better.

“Grant Featherston’s R152 Contour chair” written by Kirsty Grant- 12 Jun 14

“It was sometime in 1950, while playing with a tram ticket, that Grant Featherston came up with the idea to bend and join two pieces of plywood to form the shell of a chair.  He patented this method in 1951 and later that year released the R152 Contour chair (the exact chair design offered in this listing), the first model in a range that would include, among others, various lounge chairs, a rocking chair and an elegant chaise longue.  His designs struck a chord and soon, as the architect Neil Clerehan wrote, ‘no contemporary house was regarded as complete … without a pair of Featherston chairs before its bagged brick fireplace.’

The National Gallery of Victoria holds an extensive collection of furniture designed by Grant Featherston but this example of the R152 is particularly significant due to the fact that it was purchased for the permanent collection in 1955, just four years after this design went into production. Because it has been in the gallery’s collection since it was made – stored in optimal conditions and rarely, if ever, sat on – the chair is in pristine and original condition and as a result, is very rare, if not unique. The Gallery paid £14/1/6 for the chair and with this acquisition, Grant Featherston became the first Australian industrial designer to have his work represented in the National Gallery of Victoria’s collection.

We don’t know who was responsible for recommending the R152 for acquisition but … ”

It goes on…

Visit – https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/grant-featherstons-r152-contour-chair/ … for more reasons why you need to invest in this divine piece of furniture design. :+)

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