Home: Design: Salem Chair Library

The Salem College Chair Library

The Salem College Chair Library is a unique entity, containing reproductions of 40+ iconic twentieth century chairs. In this space, students are allowed to physically see and touch each item as they study the particular design and construction materials. The chairs, along with over 1000 books on design, architecture, furniture, etc., were donated by Charles and Martha Sutton in an effort to elevate the Design program at Salem College to a national level. The library itself is located in the Elberson Fine Arts Center on the Salem College campus, while the books are held in both the Gramley Library and the Rudolph Fine Arts Library, both on campus.

Specific courses within the Design program extensively use this collection for their required projects. Although far from complete, representative reference and circulating texts, as well as databases and websites, containing material for completing these assignments follow.

Suggest Sources for Design Projects

Chairs Klotz by Charlotte J. Fiell; Peter Fiell
ISBN: 9783822841037
Publication Date: 2005-04-01
The ubiquitous chair in all its shapes and forms (TASCHEN's 25th anniversary special edition) More than any other piece of furniture, the chair has been subjected to the wildest dreams of the designers. The particular curve of a back-rest, or the twist of a leg, the angle of a seat or the colour of the entire artefact all reflect the stylistic consciousness of each era. From Gerrit Rietveld and Alvar Aalto via Verner Panton to Eva Zeisel; from Art Nouveau to International Style, from Pop Art to Postmodernism, the phenomenon of the chair is so complex that it requires a reference work as comprehensive as this to do it full justice. They are all here: Thonet's bentwood chairs and Hoffmann's sitting-machines, Marcel Breuer's Wassily chair and Ron Arad's avant garde armchairs. The book, a slightly abbreviated version of our classic title 1000 Chairs, devotes one page to each chair, displayed on its own as pure form, with biographical and historical information about the chair.
Dictionary of Furniture by Charles Boyce; Joseph T. Butler (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9780816010424
Publication Date: 1985-11-01
Landmarks of Twentieth-Century Design by Kathryn Hiesinger; George Marcus
ISBN: 9781558592797
Publication Date: 1993-09-01
A comprehensive study of international design, with essays on the trends, innovations, and significant objects of each period covered.

Chairs by Florence De Dampierre
ISBN: 9780810954847
Publication Date: 2006-10-01
Chairs: A History, by furniture authority Florence de Dampierre, is a wonderfully readable, profusely illustrated history of seating from the ancient world to the present.
Chairs by Charlotte Fiell; Peter Fiell
ISBN: 9783822855072
Publication Date: 2001-03-29
Chairs by Judith Miller; Terence Conran (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9781840915235
Publication Date: 2009-10-23
Judith Miller celebrates and scrutinizes nearly 400 years of great seating in this sumptuous volume, an ode to the ingenuity of design, craftsmanship and sheer wow factor of the chair. Ranging from early antiques such as the 1680 Wainscot Chair and the 1740 Louis XV Chaise Lounge, to modern day collectibles such as Marc Newson's 1988 Embryo and Tom Dixon's 2007 Wingback, here are over 100 breathtaking chairs, all photographed on location. This lavish celebration of Chairs offers design aficionados and furniture lovers both authoritative text and 400 stunning photographs . In this beautifully designed volume, the chair really is the hero.
50 Chairs by Rotovision S. A. Staff
ISBN: 9780823065059
Publication Date: 1997-05-01
With often rare photographs and drawings, this volume documents some of the most distinguished modern chair designs -- most of which occupy key positions in the development of furniture design. Many of this century's most innovative, even outrageous chairs are presented, giving readers an inside look at the design process.
Fifty Chairs That Changed the World by Design Museum Staff
ISBN: 9781840915402
Publication Date: 2010-04-05
Fifty Chairs That Changed the World imparts that knowledge listing the top 50 chairs that have made a substantial impact in the world of British design today. From Thonet's 1870 Side Chair to Konstantin Grcic's Chair_One, each entry offers a short appraisal to explore what has made their iconic status and the designers that give them a special place in design history.

Designers

Searching the designer's name often leads to various sources with information on their designs, be they reviews, interviews, biographical pages, and manufacturers. For example, by searching for "Ludwig Mies van der Rohe," designer of the Barcelona chair, you come up with the following sources:

Chairs

Performing a search on your chair name can lead you to the manufacturer and other sites. These sites often provide information on the designer, chair construction, dimensions, prices, etc. For example, when I type in "barcelona chair," the first item that comes up is the manufacturer's website. On this site, the first page tells me when it was designed, how it is constructed, upholstery options, dimensions, price, and also includes a van der Rohe's most quoted maxim.

Databases

Searching Salem College databases also lead to information on Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his designs. Journals, trade publications, newspapers, and other sources may provide various types of information and photographs of the designer being researched. For example, a search for Mies van der Rohe in Academic Search Complete yields 298 hits in Academic Journals, 143 in Magazines, 93 in Trade Publications, 53 in Newspapers, and 38 Book Reviews; however, a search using his full name--Ludwig Mies van der Rohe--in Academic Search Complete yields different results: 91 hits in Magazines, 50 in Trade Publications, 38 in Newspapers, 23 in Academic Journals, and 20 Book Reviews.

Remember that you can use the column on the left to limit your results (e.g. limit to sources that are in English). Also, Mies van der Rohe was known primarily as an architect, so you may need to further limit your results to those dealing with furniture. You can do so by performing an advanced search for "Mies van der Rohe" and "furniture."

Websites

There are various websites that contain information on where certain designs have been used in television and film. While not complete, these sites may provide information to help you with your project.