Art Deco Portois and Fix Viennese Credenza

Presenting an amazingly rare piece of Art Deco furniture by an exceptionally rare maker, namely, an Art Deco Portois and Fix Viennese Credenza .

Part of a complete Dining Room Set comprising of 3 pieces – this Credenza, a Buffet/Sideboard and a Tall Case Clock. All in our Inventory but being sold separately (or together if you have a desire to own the complete set which you will NEVER be in a position to do again).

Made in Vienna, Austria circa 1920-30 by the famous furniture maker of Portois & Fix.

The piece consists of a curved, inlaid 2 drawer, 2 door credenza.

The drawers have the original brass handles which are very Art Nouveau/Art Deco in design.

The bottom doors each have a central parquetry inlaid central medallion made of various woods. Each door also is banded or edged in a parquetry inlay of various woods with matching medallions in each corner.

The curves on this piece, coupled with the hardware shape and design are un-mistakeably Art Nouveau moving into Art Deco in design and style.

Beautiful burl yew wood veneer.

A stunning, important and exceptionally rare & desirable piece

Condition: The piece is in good original condition. Some minor loss of veneer to the countertop with water ring. Some wear through age to the base section but not severe. Otherwise the piece is in very good original condition.

We have another exceptionally rare piece by Portois & Fix in our Inventory which in it’s style and design was clearly made by the company towards the end of the 19th Century when they were furniture makers to the Habsburg’s (The Austrian Royal Family). It is clearly in the style of Louis XVI pieces and totally different from this dining room set. Clearly, after the end of WW1 the Habsburg Empire came to an end and Portois & Fix started making much more utilitarian furniture for the high-end international buyer. This is how we can date this piece as it is clearly in the transition period between Art Nouveau and Art Deco of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s.

Also, this piece (and the entire dining room set) have specific and important PROVENANCE, which not only establish it’s authenticity but it’s individual history.

SPECIFIC PROVENANCE:
This piece was purchased and imported by Olga Mangold in the very early 1930’s to Dallas, TX directly from Portois & Fix. The piece was imported through the Port of New Orleans as is marked on the back of the piece. The back also have the Portois & Fix stamps and marks.

Olga Mangold was the daughter of well known early Dallas real estate developer Carl A. Mangold, who is an important figure in Dallas History and credited with really developing the Oak Cliff suburb directly south of downtown.

Olga lived in a mansion in the University Park Area of Dallas and these pieces held pride of place in her dining room. We have Olga’s Scrapbook which has been passed down through the generations of descendants and you will see the photos of the set in her home with her typed entry in her scrapbook about the pieces, as she was obviously very proud of them.

Later in life, around 1950, Olga moved to Colorado Springs and brought the pieces with her. She obviously had a restorer work on the pieces whilst in Colorado Springs and this explains the lighting on the buffet and the work on the tall case clock (dealt with separately under the posting of the clock). The restorer was a Mr. Vandenberg as wriiten on the back.

After her death in 1988, the family brought the pieces back to Dallas where they have remained in family ownership since.

Charles A. Mangold Sr., the father of Carl Mangold, was one of the pioneers of Dallas County. successful sucsessful as a businessman, builder and manager of the Jefferson Hotel, and a horse breeder, Mangold was also a leader and developer for public interest. He was involved in a variety of activities promoting the arts, such as the Opera, Oak Cliff Little Theatre, and the Silver Jubilee Saengerfest (1904). He organized Lake Cliff Park and helped with the Dallas State Fair. His name appears on many city promotions including the early founders of the Chamber of Commerce and membership rosters of many fraternal organizations such as Odd Fellows, the Elks, the Eagles, and the Sons of Herman. Charles Mangold was one of the leaders in developing Dallas from a small village to a major city.

Charles Mangold was born October 31, 1860 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He arrived in Dallas in 1885 and established a wholesale liquor enterprise known as Swope and Mangold. Almost immediately upon his arrival in Dallas, Mangold became interested in the development of Dallas and Oak Cliff. He was responsible for the crusade to build a viaduct between the two cities in 1910. His interest also extended to the creation of city parks and was one of the original members of the parks board.

His many commercial enterprises included breeding Angora goats and horses, plus the running of horse races at the fair grounds, the Oak Cliff Casino, wholesale liquor, wines and cigars, the Jefferson Hotel, and the American Laundry Company. He endeavored to make all of his works unique, successful, and first rate. His contributions to Dallas County are well noted in several sources. After his death, August 26, 1934, his obituary appears in the Dallas Morning News, August 27, 1934, front page and proclaims him as the “Man Who Visioned Oak Cliff”.

Charles and wife Anna Mangold had four children, two daughters, Olga and Irma, and two sons, Lawrence W. and Charles A. Mangold Jr. (Carl). Both sons served in World War I. The younger son, Carl, entered the service in October 1918 and was discharged after the Armistice in November. Lawrence remained in the service and as a Sergeant Major was sent to Germany with the Army of Occupation. Carl followed his father’s lead and became a developer, helping his father with Cliff Towers, Lake Cliff Park, and the Jefferson Hotel. Carl donated this collection to this library after an oral history interview. Carl A. Mangold died in February 1987 at age 87.