Friso Kramer & Wim Rietveld Reply drawing table XL – Ahrend de Cirkel, 1959

An original Reply drawing table, designed in 1959 by Friso Kramer and Wim Rietveld for Ahrend de Cirkel. This is the sought-after XL version with a generous 120 × 80 cm top. Suitable as an architect’s or drafting table, but also as a striking designer desk. The Reply drawing table won the Signe d’Or. Two knobs on either side of the steel base allow the height and tilt of the top to be adjusted steplessly. The laminated steel hinge mechanism is the signature feature of this design. The mechanisms run smoothly, the table is stable and all original. Friso Kramer (1922–2019) is one of the most important Dutch industrial designers of the twentieth century; his work is in the collections of MoMA in New York and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Wim Rietveld (1924–1985), son of Gerrit Rietveld, was head designer at Ahrend in the 1950s and stood for clear, affordable, serially produced furniture design. A textbook example of post-war Dutch industrial design: honest materials, visible engineering and pure functionality. A statement in a modern, industrial or mid-century interior, as a workspace or as a design object. Dimensions: top 120 × 80 cm; height (top horizontal) 73 to 114 cm; overall approx. 130 × 90 cm. Material: lacquered steel, warm-toned HPL top. Designer/Maker: Friso Kramer and Wim Rietveld for Ahrend de Cirkel. Period: designed 1959, produced circa 1960. Origin: Netherlands. Condition: very good, exceptional for its age; minimal signs of use.