Armchair

Gerald Summers (1899–1967) for Makers of Simple Furniture

Armchair, 1934

Birch plywood

Sainsbury Centre 31233

Designs by Gerald Summers and his company, Makers of Simple Furniture, were selected by Oliver Hill to furnish his Frinton Park Estate promotional show home. Summers’ chair design of 1934 was made of a single plywood sheet, cut with four straight lines and press-moulded to create the curve of the chair’s legs and arms. This simple, experimental approach to plywood was popular in Britain and Makers of Simple Furniture designs were sold through department stores such as Heal’s and Harrods.