Roses are red, Violets are BLUE, and so is this awesome Grand Haven Chair we have to offer you!!! We have a vintage ad that denotes these as “the famous Grand Haven chair, winner of the coveted House Beautiful Classic Award given for exceptional value in design, construction and comfort.” That couldn’t be more accurate! Besides the obvious beauty, this chair is super comfortable and ready to grace your mid-century modern home with its bold presence. It wears its original blue “hopsack” fabric, and we had the foam replaced in the original cushion, so it is closer to its original condition. This would be a wonderful accent chair to have in your entry way for sitting as you remove your shoes or a king chair at your dining table. Wherever you choose to put it, this chair is sure to be your new conversation piece.
Jack van der Molen is an award-winning gifted American designer of the mid-20th century. He was born in 1922 and is a man of many accomplishment and talents. He was awarded five Battle Stars for his actions during WWII, is a fabulous golfer winning many tournaments, and an excellent watercolorist with work in private and commercial collections. He was educated at Kendall School Design in Grand Rapids. His furniture design work successfully combines organic details with clean lines. He designed several lines of furniture for Jamestown Lounge Co. including “Americana Casual”. He even won the coveted House Beautiful Magazine “Best Chair of the Year” award for his “Grand Haven” chair for Jamestown in 1959. In addition, he collaborated with Dupont initiating use of polyester fiber in upholstered furniture. His 61 years designing for top manufacturers is celebrated by how desirable and sought after his designs are today.
Jamestown Lounge Company of Jamestown, New York was founded in 1888 by four partners. They first manufactured, obviously from their name, only lounges. These were long armless, backless, upholstered pieces with a hard roll at one end…what my mother always called a “fainting couch”. They soon added other box couches and convertible sofa beds leading into full manufacturing of all kinds of case and upholstered goods. They are famous for their Feudal Oak line introduced in the 1930s which was produced for decades. In the 1950s designer Jack van der Molen helped keep them in the public’s eye and homes with his “Americana Casual” line plus others. They were sold in 1978, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1982, and closed in 1983.
We adore this unique and gorgeous mid-century chair and know you will too. You must make it yours!
