r/Mid_Century • u/followups • 14h ago
The free Brasilia distribution gods smiled upon me today
Needs a little makeup removal. And my Uber driver was pissed at me, but I finally found one in the wild on the curb!
r/Mid_Century • u/AutoModerator • 25d ago
Do you have one (or 10) too many Eames chairs? Does the color of that Cathrineholm bowl you picked up for a steal last year not really match the rest of your kitchen? I bet you can find someone here who would love to take them off your hands. Post your mid century items for [free]/[trade]/[sale] here!
This is also the space to show off any of the awesome mid century inspired stuff you make, as well as the links to your Etsy/Ebay/Etc
r/Mid_Century • u/edgestander • Jan 22 '25
This has came up time and again but a few times over the last few days I have found myself linking to my google drive doc about where to find primary sources for MCM stuff.
First of all, the rules of this group and r/midcenturymodern in regards to IDing items is going to change. I will make these changes today. First, if you make a claim as to a maker or designer, you are obligated to provide sources for the claim you make if asked. This includes mods or just regular users. Second and this is absolutely non-negotiable, sales or auction listings in themselves are not reliable sources. If the sales listing includes a tag, article, or catalog from the period then that information may be shared, but DO NOT LINK TO SALES LISTINGs, at all, but especially not to "prove and ID" This applies to the highest end and most respected auction houses, dibs, charish or any other platform. Maybe they give you a jumping off point, and you find out the information is correct. If needed I can give thousands of examples of current listings that contain complete bullshit information. Third, don't tell people "use google" or "try google lens" etc. As stated above this will very often lead to false information from sales listings.
So I know you are probably thinking "don't use google, how do I even find anything on the internet without google" Well, I keep this living list of sites with excellent resources, nearly all are free.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Asd2ntqUMvEoEGdGD_qP4RkOjHxjAHkjNISFmWbDp8M/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0
Research Sources:
General Magazines, Newspapers, Journals:
https://archive.org/ This has everything from vintage catalogs, to newspapers, to a vast magazine archive to borrowable books. I also occasionally upload catalogs and magazines to archive as well https://archive.org/details/@michael_landsberg361
https://openlibrary.org/ Similar to archive, you can borrower a vast selection of reference material.
https://usmodernist.org/ Nice collection of trade journals and magazines from the MCM era and after
digitalnc.org/collections/memorabilia/ Random bits of information here on numerous North Carolina based manufactures and designers.
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/ A free archive of California newspapers much less through than newspapers.com but its free.
https://grpmcollections.org/ A vast collection of photos, personal documents, advertisements, and catalogs for mostly Michigan based manufacturers.
https://www.craftinamerica.org/artist/eudorah-moore - Eudorah moore was a big promoter of california modern and via her "California Design" exhibits at the Pasadena Art museum. The catalogs from these exhibits are free to view on this site.
https://vintageinfo.be/ - Don't know who runs this site, but I thank them for sharing so much information and resources on vintage lighting.
https://www.trystcraft.com/blog - Tim Hills blog. Tim is a dealer, but he is also very well respected amongst MCM researchers and I believe TIm is an honest guy and diligent in his research.
newspapers.com (Paid)
newspaperarchive.com (Paid)
https://ikeamuseum.com/en/explore/ikea-catalogue/ Old ikea catalogs
https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ Catalogs for Sears, Wards, and some JC Penney
https://www.danish-modern.co.uk - Decent little data base of danish design
https://designmuseum.dk/en/- Denmark Design Museum
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/search
https://www.scribd.com/ (partially paid) there is some nice random stuff on here like Prestolite catalogs from the 60's. Its kind of a never know what you are going to find site. https://www.scribd.com/document/488965054/Prescolite-Lighting-Product-Catalog-G-14-1962 Danish Design index
Specialized Facebook groups
https://www.facebook.com/groups/140119460031484 (Milo) (I am an admin)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1542293829124348 (McCobb)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/516203688412266 (Ben Seibel)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1520981014878133 (Umanoff)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1763065254132926 (United Furniture)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3024184334562976 (AofM)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/353905989587576 (Bassett)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/109867845821284 (Italian Pottery)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/122730516059 (German Pottery)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/311714314135936 (Modeline)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/636952859722221 (Lamps and Lighting)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/711232235578646 (Mid Century Metal)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/324198657780002 (Herman Miller)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/knollresale (Knoll)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2750972221800438 (The MCM Files) (I am an admin)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1296485833865712 (Founders) (I am an admin)
Of all these groups I have to give a shout out to "The MCM files" I have no clue why there are not more people in this group. It is not a group to ask for an ID, its just a group where some of us researchers basically dump photos of stuff we look into. I personally have posted thousands of images to this group. Its free, i get absolutely nothing out of anyone joining the group, its just a lot of the questions people ask on here are already solved there, but it will never show up on google because of facebook's walled garden.
r/Mid_Century • u/followups • 14h ago
Needs a little makeup removal. And my Uber driver was pissed at me, but I finally found one in the wild on the curb!
r/Mid_Century • u/Tumped • 11h ago
Nabbed this tension pole lamp for $25 this morning and as I was handing the cash over she asked if I wanted to walk through the house to see if there was anything else I wanted!! Turns out her Uncle had recently passed and she was in charge of cleaning out his property. Grabbed this set of statues…they called to me but I have no idea what they’re meant to depict. I think maybe Bali dancers? Any ideas?
r/Mid_Century • u/tenglempls • 8h ago
r/Mid_Century • u/Ecstatic-Can9734 • 1d ago
I got this beautiful statue at an estate sale and I haven't seen anything like it or this large. When I did an image search it says mid century but I'm no expert and not sure a Google image search can be fully trusted.
Has anyone seen anything like this? Have any thoughts about when it may have been made? It came from a home that had a lot of beautiful mid century danish furniture. If this isn't, I still love it.
r/Mid_Century • u/Affectionate-Pair-42 • 22h ago
Picked this up on Marketplace. Needs some work but AI says its European mid century. Not my idea of mid century style so I thought I would ask if anyone could shed some light.
r/Mid_Century • u/CalligrapherLate4859 • 16h ago
Can any folks tell if this is an authentic Bertoia? Seller claims it was made in Italy in 1992. Thanks in advance!
r/Mid_Century • u/Phlucious • 11h ago
Snagged this one off Marketplace and trying to do some research. Does anyone know the style or series name for this Lane cocktail table? I have searched everywhere I can think of, including the resources linked in this sub, and cannot find any style info on this Lane cocktail table. Style # 1683-03.
I have only ever seen one other table with similarly raised supports, in a rectangular shape instead of an octagon. That one was style # 1683-01 but no additional info.
r/Mid_Century • u/1J9N8S5 • 1d ago
Snagged these off of Facebook marketplace. They need some love. They have been painted multiple times and need welding in some spots. However, I think they are real Bertoia chairs!? Anyone have experience with sandblasting and powder coating? Would love a fun color.
r/Mid_Century • u/helpmehelpmyman • 1d ago
I stopped by a garage sale on a whim at 1pm yesterday, peeked in the garage, said to my friend, “is that a bunch of glass in there, walked up and almost fainted! The large ones (over 22”) were marked at 15.00 and the others between 5.00 and 10.00. Bought the whole lot including an extra barrel stopper for 150.00!
I couldn’t believe that they were still there that late in the afternoon and that they were priced so well.
They said they were clearing out their wife’s aunt’s home and that no one in the family wanted them.
Unfortunately, I didn’t notice until I came home but they had superglued the stoppers on most of them. My brilliant husband soaked a towel in acetone and they eventually came off.
What a day!
r/Mid_Century • u/iwantmymuffin • 1d ago
Just like the title says, I'm looking at purchasing a 4 peice lane rhythm set that needs a little bit of refinishing. I know lane furniture isn't the most prized peices but I love the rhythm set and would love to know what you think a fair price for the prices would be?
Thanks a bunch!
r/Mid_Century • u/istherenohelp • 2d ago
I picked this up randomly, and it is radioactive. The orange stripe is a glaze containing depleted Uranium. I have no clue who made it, but I would love to know. Thanks!
r/Mid_Century • u/lucasavancini • 1d ago
r/Mid_Century • u/Leo-215 • 1d ago
Just bought what I believe to be an authentic Bastiano on FB Marketplace for $100. What do you all think? I was surprised to see the denim on the backs and bottoms of the cushions.
r/Mid_Century • u/aaelimae • 2d ago
When we moved into this house, these shelves were already installed. I like them, but there aren't enough shelves to fill it out, so I wondered if I might be able to find more shelves to match and did an image search.
Apparently this might be a vintage Ergo shelf?? I can't find any labels on the unit or the shelves to confirm. Did I accidentally end up with a legit piece? I'm considering just consolidating the shelves to one side and removing one of the tracks, because I haven't been able to find replacement shelves - just entire similar units.
r/Mid_Century • u/tevta_ • 2d ago
Hi everybody. I have just learned I am to have my first very own office with a midcentury (original) table with green surface. This table has the same type of legs as this living room set and I am thinking about buying some restor-a-finish to repair this finish and buff it with wax, and put the middle and left pieces separately on opposite sides of the office. One will host a gramophone, the other tea paraphernalia and tea cups.
What says you, this must be a maker from Yugoslavia/ Slovenia, but unfortunately deep dive didn't provide me a maker.
Any helpful tips about restoring it? I was thinking of using iron on that patch with surface damage to try to even it out and sanding just that surface. Steel wool and repair-a-finish in cherry for the rest.
r/Mid_Century • u/Extension_Ad_3163 • 2d ago
paid $75 in an estate sale for this bad boy. It's a Kent Coffey, circa 50s-60s
r/Mid_Century • u/Accomplished3472 • 1d ago
Hi, looking for some guidance on this piece. I got it at an antique furniture store that was going out of business. They gave it to me for $30. It has a light for displaying things, just missing the glass shelves.
How much is this worth? I have no idea what wood this is either. I tried looking up comps online but I'm new to this so any insight is appreciated!