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Model X201

Chair
1947 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Educational Supply Association (manufacturer)
Leonard, James (designer)
Place of origin
Stevenage (manufactured)

Chair, with moulded beech-faced plywood seat and backrest and cast aluminium frame, painted silver-grey, with splayed 'compass' legs. The frame consists of two cast aluminum sections - each forming half of the chair's back support and one of the chair's front and back legs. The two halves are joined by aluminium bars at the front and back of the seat and between the back legs. The moulded plywood seat and backrest are attached the fame by rivets at either side.


Object details

Categories
Furniture
Education & Learning
Object type
Chair
TitleModel X201 (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Moulded 3-ply beech-faced plywood and cast aluminium
Beech Plywood
Aluminium
Moulding
Casting
Brief description
School chair (model X201), designed by James Leonard, manufactured by the Educational Supply Association, moulded plywood and cast aluminium, Stevenage, Britain, designed 1947
Physical description
Chair, with moulded beech-faced plywood seat and backrest and cast aluminium frame, painted silver-grey, with splayed 'compass' legs. The frame consists of two cast aluminum sections - each forming half of the chair's back support and one of the chair's front and back legs. The two halves are joined by aluminium bars at the front and back of the seat and between the back legs. The moulded plywood seat and backrest are attached the fame by rivets at either side.


Dimensions
  • Height: 87.6cm (circa)
  • Width: 49.8cm (circa)
  • Depth: 66cm (circa)
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
6710 17 1/2" ESA (Stamped on underside of seat)
Gallery label
(2017)
Text from Plywood: Material of the Modern World (15 July-12 November 2017)

SCHOOL CHAIR (MODEL X201)
Designed 1948

This is an early example of the use of
visible, moulded plywood in post-war
school furniture. Plywood went on to
become one of the standard materials
of the classroom. Leonard’s school
chairs were celebrated for their use of
modern materials – moulded plywood
and aluminium. Around a million of these
chairs had been manufactured for schools
by the mid 1960s.

Designed by James Leonard (dates unknown)
Manufactured by the Educational Supply Association
Stevenage, Britain
Moulded 3-ply beech-faced plywood and cast aluminium

V&A: W.12-2017
Bibliographic reference
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
W.12-2017

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Record createdOctober 27, 2016
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1371102/model-x201-chair-leonard-james/
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