Karl Springer
American, 1931 - 1991
Born in Berlin in 1931, Karl Springer studied bookbinding and worked as a window dresser at a prominent clothier before leaving for New York in the late 1950s. At the age of twenty-six, he began styling windows at Lord & Taylor. In an effort to advance his career, he started applying his bookbinding skills to making jewel boxes, desk accessories, and telephone tables, which he expertly wrapped in animal skin. Soon, his work was garnering attention from the upper echelon, including a buyer for Bergdorf Goodman and the Duchess of Windsor, who introduced him to an array of high-end clients.
Springer established a shop on 1st Avenue and later, opened a small atelier on East 53rd Street, commonly referred to as Boutique Row, where demand for his work continued to grow. Inspired by everything from the French Art Deco masters of the 1920s to the Bauhaus, ancient Greek motifs, and Chinoiserie, he took simple, pared-down forms and elevated them to new heights. He used a swathe of exotic materials and finishes, including lacquered parchment, gunmetal, Lucite, inlaid-wood veneer, chrome, travertine, and granite, but it was his furniture wrapped in lacquered skins—goat, lizard, alligator, shagreen, python, and even frog—that were his most distinct.
Springer opened his main showroom on East 61st Street in 1969 and operated several workshops throughout the city, and eventually around the world. In these specialized workshops, individual pieces were assembled in several stages by different craft specialists, many of whom hailed from Europe and Asia and were incredibly skilled in lacquering, batiking, leatherworking, and woodworking. Ultimately, he moved as much production as possible abroad—lacquered goatskin pieces were made in Mexico; shagreen and coral in the Philippines and Indonesia; and glass lighting in Italy. By 1983, his furnishings were available in showrooms in Manhattan, Los Angeles, Munich, and Tokyo. Karl Springer died in 1991. He was sixty years old.
Vintage Karl Springer Furniture Tables Lights Chairs
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Karl Springer
Karl Springer Stunning "Round Leg Lucite Bench" 1980s (Signed)
H 18 in W 35 in D 16 in
$ 12,000
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Karl Springer
Karl Springer Rare "Mushroom Table Lamp" in Polished Brass 1980s
H 30 in DIA 18 in
$ 9,500
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Karl Springer
Karl Springer Rare Pair of "Lighthouse Lamps" in Blue Shagreen and Nickel 1980s
H 23 in DIA 10 in
$ 12,000
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Karl Springer
Karl Springer Stainless Steel Coffee Table with Brass and Glass Top
H 16 in W 54 in D 40 in
$ 14,400
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Karl Springer
Mid-Century Italian Post Modern Green / Gray Marble Console Table or Sofa Table
H 29 in W 54 in D 19 in
$ 2,350
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Karl Springer
MCM Torchiere Frosted White Glass & Lucite Floor Lamp after Karl Springer
H 64 in DIA 14 in
$ 1,650
Sold
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Karl Springer
Karl Springer "Bauhaus Dining Table" in Lacquered Gray Goatskin 1980s
H 29 in W 96 in D 48 in
$ 35,000
Sold
Karl Springer
Monumental Coffee Table in Tessellated Stone & Brass by Karl Springer, Signed
H 15 in W 71 in D 61 in
$ 7,950
Access Trade Price
Karl Springer
Pair of Post Modern Karl Springer Style Ottomans in Ivory White Bouclé
H 17 in W 25 in D 24 in
$ 8,600
Karl Springer
Karl Springer "Souffle Ottoman" with Brass Base and Silk Upholstery 1980s
H 17 in W 27 in D 27 in
$ 4,500
Karl Springer
Mid-Century Italian Post Modern Gray Marble Console Table or Sofa Table
H 29 in W 42 in D 20 in
$ 2,300
Karl Springer
Set of 4 Karl Springer Goatskin Jmf Chairs W Cheetah Seats
H 35 in W 18 in D 18 in
$ 5,400
Karl Springer
Karl Springer Exquisite Pair of Floor Lamps in Black Lacquer and Brass 1980s
H 61 in W 9 in D 9 in
$ 15,000
Karl Springer
Pair Karl Springer Dowel Wood Lounge Chairs in Zebra Hide
H 37 in W 32 in D 32 in
$ 19,000
Karl Springer
Karl Springer Rare "Mushroom Table Lamp" in Gunmetal and Brass 1970s
H 29 in DIA 18 in
$ 9,500
Hold
Karl Springer
Karl Springer Pair of Sumptuous Leather Swivel Chairs 1980s
H 29 in W 29 in D 31 in
$ 15,000
Karl Springer
Karl Springer Exceptional Tapering Pedestal in Lacquered Goatskin 1970s
W 13 in D 13 in
$ 6,500
Karl Springer
Mid-Century Modernist Tessellated Shagreen Geometric Table Lamp by Karl Springer
H 30 in W 22 in D 22 in
$ 18,475
Karl Springer
Pair of Mid-Century Brass & Lucite "Spun Shaped Wall Sconces" by Karl Springer
H 10 in W 23 in D 14 in
$ 6,475
Karl Springer
Mid-Century Modernist J.M.F. Floor Lamp in Tessellated Penshell by Karl Springer
H 60 in W 23 in D 23 in
$ 18,475
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