Originally Posted by
OakIris
Originally Posted by
tytoalba
Thank you Biker Babe for enriching this thread with your history of Jensen!
I was secretly hoping you might know something and join in... wonderful information.
+1
Wow, wonderful information, BikerBabe, more than I was able to find with a quick Google search. Thank you! My mother (and father) did indeed live in New York for a while; my brother was born there in 1950, and I think (why don't I know?!?
) that my mother lived there during WWII as well.
And, yesterday I said the letter opener was all I had of Georg Jensen's but I have discovered I do in fact have more of his (or at least of his company's) work after all. I started to think about my parents' "good" silverware, which I now have. Lovely stuff, quite art deco in design, and I took a look at it this morning suspecting that it might indeed have been made and designed by the company. Sure enough, "Georg Jensen Silversmith" and "Sterling Denmark" is stamped on all of it. Not the Cactus pattern, but still:
Attachment 2210
Whether they got a start on this set as a wedding present or chose and purchased this themselves, I do not know; there is no paperwork in the storage box and though I remember cleaning it and using it while growing up, I never discussed the silverware with my parents. Sorry to go more than a bit off topic, but I am honored to have these lovely things in my possession. I will indeed take good care of all of it.
I hope you are able to find a letter opener you like and will enjoy using, Barbara. My letter opener was stored in the Gerstner tool chest where I keep all of my pen repair tools, etc., but now I am going to start using it again, even though it will be mostly for mundane things like opening up bills!
Holly
Hi again Holly.
You're welcome, it's always fascinating for me (as a history geek) to find out more about our danish designers and the history of the various items. I like doing detective work, apparently!
The Georg Jensen pieces that you got is part of the "Pyramide" (Pyramid) dinnerware set, designed by Harald Jensen in 1927.
HARALD NIELSEN (1892 - 1977)
Harald Nielsen first aspired to be a painter but as the younger brother of Georg Jensen's third wife, Johanne, he was drawn into the Georg Jensen silversmithy. He started as a chaser's apprentice in 1909 and worked his way up to designer/director of the smithy school of apprentices.
In 1954, he became the smithy director and in 1958 he became artistic director of the Company, a position he held until 1962.
He was Jensen's closest colleague and his design style was very similar to Johan Rohde.
Both eschewed ornamentation in favor of form and line.
He became the interpreter of Jensen's and Rohde's designs as he turned their rough design sketches, Jensen's often being on paper napkins, into precise drawings that were used by the silversmiths to create the pieces.
Nielsen's role as head of the apprentice school was particularly important after Jensen died in 1935, since Nielsen insured the continued high quality of the firm's design and output by recruiting talented young silversmiths and designers; and training them according to the Jensen Silversmithy standards.
Perhaps his most famous recruit was Henning Koppel.
He was also responsible for the smooth transition from the first generation of Jensen designers, namely Jensen himself and Rohde to the generation which followed.
Nielsen designed many pieces of jewelry and hollowware, much of which is still in production, and created the Pyramid flatware design.
And by the way, if you keep this up, I'll end up becoming our resident Georg Jensen expert!
Cheers,
Maria.
Bookmarks