Gerald Summers & Marjorie Butcher: Makers of Simple Furniture, 1931–1940 – Modern Plywood Design and Iconic Furniture

In 1931, the English designer Gerald Summers (1899-1967)-creatorof the iconic bent plywood armchair -and his partner, Marjorie Butcher (1909-1996), opened their London shop, Makers of Simple Furniture. For almosta decade until closing in 1940, the firm produced hundreds of ingenious designs in plywood. Conceived, in Gerald's words, as "furniture for the concrete age," this singular body of work shaped the notion of the modern interior in Britain. Gerald Summers & Marjorie Butcher: Makers of Simple Furniture, 1931-1940 tells for the first time the compelling story of the firm and its dedicated proprietors. Drawingon Marjorie's vivid recollections and a wealth of unpublished material-including never-before-seen images, personal correspondence, workshop documents, and illustrated specification sheets-the book reveals the magnitude of their achievements and restores a neglected chapter in the history of modern design.  This publication is made possible in part by a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. GERALD SUMMERS (1899-1967) is one of the foremost furniture designers of the twentieth century. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, he worked as an engineer before starting his design career. In 1931, he and his partner, MARJORIE BUTCHER (1909-1996), opened Makers of Simple Furniture in London. They managed the firm for almost ten years, producing hundreds of pieces for the modern home. In 1940, wartime exigencies brought an end to the enterprise. They redirected their energy to Gerald Summers Ltd., a supplier of engineering parts. MARTHA DEESE is an authority on Gerald Summers. She earned a master's degree in decorative art history from Cooper-Hewitt Museum/Parsons School of Design, New York, and worked for three decades as an administrator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Her groundbreaking article on Summers and his firm, Makers of Simple Furniture, published in the Journal of Design History in 1992, remains the principal source on the designer.