$4,800

Mexico
circa 1954

Knock-down lounge chair with arms in solid carved pine with a woven plasticized palm seat and back, in the manner of Clara Porset, produced by Muebles Austin of Mexico City, 1950’s. The chair is designed to disassemble via a loose mortise-and-tenon joint at the junction of the back and seat along with bolted joints where the arms meet the back and the front legs meet the seat (see photos). Muebles Austin was founded in 1944 in Mexico City by Austin Sulzburger, a Swiss immigrant by way of the United States. At its peak in the mid-1950’s the firm offered some 155 items with 10 workshops in and around Mexico City, employing upwards of 340 people. As such, it shared elements of a narrative with Don Shoemaker, Michael van Beuren, and Industria Meublera—a designer/entrepreneur from the United States setting up workshops in Mexico, utilizing local craftsmen and materials, drawing on native techniques and forms, and producing a body of work with knock-down construction for ease of export (“especially designed to take back home in your car”) and at affordable price points for both the emergent middle class in Mexico and an audience abroad. The present chair is clearly derived from a Clara Porset design, with the rakish line to the seat, extending past the rear legs, the curved and tapered carving to the exposed wood, and the traditional weaving patterns to the seat and back. The Austin chair may lack the solid joinery and finesse of the Porset model, but it adds the plastic coating to the palm for outdoor use and durability, plus the ability to knock-down for storage or transport. In all, a handsome and useful design, and likely one of the best offerings from Muebles Austin. Surprisingly scarce, given the putative success of the firm as noted in period newspaper articles. The seat angles down from a height of 14” at the front edge to about 10” at the back edge. The armless version of the chair, pictured in a contemporary article below, is hinged at the juncture of back and seat so that it folds flat.

Condition
Original condition. Wear to the wood, including scratches, nicks, and variegation, consistent with age and use. The woven back is fully intact; the seat remains usable though some of the palm strands have snapped—see photos.

Measurements
Height: 30 in.
Width/length: 25 in.
Depth: 31”
Seat height: 14 in. (max)