Vintage Coastal Cast Aluminum Brown Jordan Grotto Chairs, Set of 6
About the Item
- Creator:Brown Jordan (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 14.5 in (36.83 cm)Width: 20.75 in (52.71 cm)Length: 14.5 in (36.83 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Unknown
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:West Palm Beach, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5852228953922
Brown Jordan
Pioneers of furniture designed especially for the outdoors, Brown Jordan channeled — in tables, lounge chairs and armchairs — the carefree postwar California spirit and helped create a new space in American life: the patio.
The outdoor furniture brand began to take shape in 1945, when Robert Brown, an industrial designer, and Hubert Jordan met in Pasadena, California, and began collaborating on their first design, a traditional wrought-iron breakfast set they called Morning Glory. They offered it for sale via the upscale department store Bullock’s Wilshire. The store ran an ad about the new outdoor set, and, by the end of the day, it had sold out completely.
A few years later, in 1948, the duo followed up with a new, very different design: the Leisure collection, one of the first to combine aluminum with vinyl “lace.” The materials were newly available after the war and offered a mid-century silhouette that was also lightweight and specifically designed for outdoor use. Some of Brown Jordan’s most singular pieces arose from another postwar material: Copper piping salvaged from ships that had sunk at Pearl Harbor was used to create sculptural, curvilinear outdoor furnishings as part of the Walter Lamb Bronze collection, which was first launched in the 1940s.
The Tamiami collection, by Brown Jordan in-house designer Hall Bradley, followed in the 1950s, with streamlined aluminum frames and vinyl seats and backs woven in a diagonal pattern. The line quickly became popular not only in California but across the country and on the East Coast, prompting an expansion from the original two colorways to a wider assortment of of-the-moment hues.
Brown Jordan’s offerings gained recognition as both innovations and symbols of a new kind of leisure. Tadao Inouye’s Kantan lounge chair, launched in 1956, was chosen by the Department of Commerce to be exhibited at the 1959 Industrial World’s Fair in Tokyo. In 1968, it was featured in the Cooper Hewitt’s “Please Be Seated” exhibit.
Bright colorways, metallics, pastels, powder coating and weather-ready materials became some of Brown Jordan’s hallmarks, heralding durable, design-forward furniture that helped create the modern idea of outdoor living.
Find a collection of vintage Brown Jordan furniture today on 1stDibs.
You May Also Like
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Metal
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Chairs
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Dining Room Chairs
Iron
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Chairs
Fruitwood
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum, Iron
20th Century American Neoclassical Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
2010s English Chairs
Mahogany
More From This Seller
View AllLate 20th Century American Regency Chairs
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Italian Chairs
Concrete
Late 20th Century North American Dining Room Chairs
Wrought Iron
Late 20th Century American Neoclassical Chairs
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Chinoiserie Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Patio and Garden Furniture
Aluminum
