Antique Viktor Metal Lawn Chair

"The Beverly Hills"

From the exhibit of Viktor Schreckengost's art and design work at the Shaker Historical Society in Shaker Heights, Ohio in 2011.  

The "Beverly Hills" chair was made only for a short time up.  It had rare wide armrests and was very comfortable.

The chair was said to be "designed for bottoms, by bottoms". Viktor had every employee (100 or more) at the Murray Ohio factory sit on a hunk of clay.  The chair seat was then molded from that hunk of clay.  Viktor had many sit on over 30 vintage metal lawn chairs. He asked them to tell him which seat they liked the best.  They all came back with Viktor's designed metal chair. Viktor was quoted as asking "how can we make it simpler".

Like many chairs in the 1930s and 40s, the chair was made with a one-piece tubular frame and came with a couple of different armrests.  The style was made exlusively for Sears.

Viktor schreckengost designed the Beverly Hills lawn chair in about 1942.  This chair saw very limited production due to the start of WWII and was not seen afterwards.  In the Post War Era industrialists began making all steel lawn chairs using round tube cantilever frames.  

John Gordon Rideout is credited with creating the first metal lawn chair known as the Calumet Chair in about 1938.  Rideout's chair was quickly called by several other names such as Clamshell and Tulip.  

Motel chairs as they are often referred to comes from the fact that so many of these chairs were used in the front of roadside motels and tourist courts.  There were many unique designs created from the late 40s and early 50s that actually mimiced the shape of an opened tulip flower.  Metal chairs are often referred to as "Bouncers".  This comes from the rocking or bouncing motion one gets when the frame is flexed and the chair sort of "bounces" up and down.  

These colorful chairs could also be found on porches, in backyards and around pools all across America.  Their popularity still extends today among collectors.

If you have one, restore it and enjoy it! These chairs are whimsical and add color to any patio or deck!  

Pick a Color!  Pick a Design!