Ars Longa News

Good Bye, and Thank You

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:35:46 -0500

You might have noticed it's been a bit quiet here lately. I apologize for that. I've been so busy with work, family, and New Documents that Ars Longa has become a much lower priority for me. Ever since I started Tweeting my thrift experiences, I've found this website to be less and less compelling to write. So I think the time has come to put a lid on Ars Longa as an active project. I appreciate all of you guys' friendship, kindness, and support over the last eight and a half years, but I'm finally closing up shop.

That doesn't mean I'm done writing about design, though. You can still catch me any number of places, not the least of which is on Twitter. Every day I write about thrift shopping and midcentury modern decorative arts using my SllabStudios account. You can also chat with me about midcentury modern graphic design using my dcmnts account for New Documents.

And speaking about New Documents, I'm currently working on a blog that should launch in the next couple months for that project. Head on over to dcmnts.com to join in that conversation very soon. I'm also beginning a handful of ongoing guest author gigs on some really quite interesting design blogs. Keep tuning in to Twitter for those pieces as they are published.

Thanks again for all these great years. I'll be leaving comments open here for a few weeks, but I'll eventually shut them down too. I fully intend on maintaining the site in perpetuity as an archive of all the great objects and discussions. Best wishes to you all!

More Vera Scarves

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:09:12 -0600

It's that time again ... we've amassed a few new Vera scarves for Kate's collection, and thought we'd share some with you here. If you want to view the entire collection, I invite you to check out our set on Flickr.

Vera Neumann. Scarf, c.1965.

Vera Neumann. Scarf, c.1969.

Vera Neumann. Scarf, c.1969.

Vera Neumann. Scarf, c.1970.

Bass at the Bazaar

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:40:19 -0600

If you hadn't already heard, I'll be in Chicago this weekend at the Vintage Bazaar. New Documents will be up on the 6th floor with a booth stocked full of great Midcentury Modern graphic design available for you to take home. Highlights will include a handful of Alvin Lustig book covers I recently acquired, lots of Paul Rand packaging design, a few really great Milton Glaser posters, an LP cover featuring Charles and Ray Eames' 1958 solar powered "Do Nothing" machine, plus a great selection of Saul Bass album covers (a few of which are pictured below).

Saul Bass. The Man With The Golden Arm. Decca Records, 1955.

Saul Bass. Exodus. RCA Victor, 1960.

Saul Bass. West Side Story. Columbia Records, 1961.

Saul Bass. Advise & Consent. RCA Victor, 1962.

Saul Bass. The Cardinal. RCA Victor, 1963.

Saul Bass. Golden Boy. Capitol Records, 1964.

The Vintage Bazaar runs on Friday and Saturday, so I hope to see you there!

Thrift Recap: January 31

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:53:53 -0600

This morning I needed to run out to do some banking, which was a good excuse to make one short stop at a thrift shop over my lunch hour. I didn't come home with much, but I saw some interesting things that I decided to leave behind for other lucky thrifters. Here are a few of the pieces I saw ...

My first sighting was an interesting piece of 1940s aluminum designed by Lurelle Guild for Kensington. I hadn't seen this pattern before, but there seems to be a bit of a lull in interest regarding Guild's work, so I left it behind.

Directly above the Kesington piece was this little tumbler. The shape is from Eva Zeisel's "Stockholm" line for Federal Glass, and it was decorated with advertising for Sweet & Low sweetener. Interesting, but of limited appeal so it got left behind too.

I also spotted this pair of "Stoneage Modern" pots from the Zanesville Stoneware Company. Since I'm really only interested in large pieces, unusual shapes, and better glazes I passed these by too.

This set of Ben Seibel's "Duplex" dinnerware included service for about 6. It was decorated in Seibel's "Trellis" decoration ... which will look great on someone's table. Just not mine. A bit to high on the kitsch scale for my taste.

This set of George Briard enamelware would have been nice, but it was overpriced and damaged. I passed it up too.

All would have been lost if I hadn't taken a stroll down to the floor with all the hardware at the thrift, where I found this pair of Tap-Light switch plates designed by Henry Dreyfuss. Not long ago I read an article by Alexandra Lange that extolled the virtues of Dreyfus's 1953 Round thermostat for Honeywell. Dreyfuss designed these switches just 4 short years later, and they're very much in keeping with his simple & functional aesthetic. This article stuck with me (as did my memories of the Dreyfuss thermostat in my childhood home), so after a couple quick tweets from the thrift shop basement I wound up bringing these two little goodies home with me. They'll be in the mail tomorrow ... and hopefully installed in Alexandra's home very soon thereafter.

New Documents on Love

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:37:23 -0600

In preparation for the quickly-approaching Valentine's Day, I paged through our offerings in the New Documents shop for a few appropriate examples of midcentury modern graphic design that would make a good gift for a loved one this holiday. Here are a few of the choicest examples, all suitable for framing or display:

Alex Steinweiss, 1947. Rudolf Serkin Beethoven: Pathétique 12-inch 78rpm.

Joe Weitz (attr.), c.1953. Gems from Victor Hubert EP.

Paul Rand, 1959. Love Against Hate by Karl Menninger.

Charles Murphy, 1963. Tony Mottola Romantic Guitar LP.

Charles Murphy, 1964. Ray Charles Young Lovers On-Broadway LP.

George Giusti, 1964. Ray Charles Songs for Lonesome Lovers LP.

Charles Murphy, 1964. Ray Charles Something Special For Young Lovers LP.

Charles Murphy, 1964. Ray Charles Singers Al-Di-La LP.

Ernest Socolov, c.1965. Romeo and Juliet / Masquerade Suite LP.

Eva Zeisel, 1906-2011

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:42:58 -0600

This story has been prevalent online (as well as on TV and radio) for the past several days, but I thought it important to mention the passing of Eva Zeisel on December 30th. It's not the kind of news that I wanted to lead off the new year with, but Zeisel was among the most important Modernist dinnerware designers and her work is very near and dear to my heart. In celebration of her long life and career, I want to re-share a handful of the great Zeisel pieces I've seen and handled over the years I've published Ars Longa.

Red Wing "Town and Country" mixing bowl, 1947. The most recent of my Zeisel finds.

Federal "Prestige" cocktail shaker, 1954. One of the very few Zeisel designs I've kept in our collection.

Red Wing "Town and Country" mustard jar spoon/stopper, 1947. I passed this one up, which in retrospect was a mistake.

Hyalyn "High Fashion" mugs, 1964. Among Zeisel's most sensual vintage designs. A truly amazing line of dinnerware.

Federal "Prestige" lowball, 1954. The first item I ever posted to Ars Longa, back in April of 2004. It somehow seems appropriate that Eva Zeisel was the designer that kicked off publication of the blog. We'll miss you, Eva.

Next Wednesday will be Fab

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:23:40 -0600

I've been extremely busy lately working on a huge year-end hullabaloo for New Documents, and am excited to announce that on Wednesday December 28th through Friday December 30th we'll be featured selling some of our best pieces of midcentury modern graphic design in partnership with Fab.com!

Detail of Fab's scheduling whitebard, taken from a Business Insider slideshow. Take particular note of the last vendor listed on the 28th!

We have over 80 pieces slated for the sale, featuring a great range of designers and media ... from the likes of Josef Albers records, Milton Glaser, Saul Bass, Alex Steinweiss, Victor Vasarely, and many more luminaries of the Modernist aesthetic. Be sure to check the sale out next week, and pass the word on to your friends! Here are just a few examples of what is going to be available.

Josef Albers and Barbara Brown LPs for Command Records, 1959-1961.

Josef Albers "White Line Squares" poster for Reinhold Visuals, circa 1965.

Saul Bass movie soundtrack LPs, 1960-1964.

A seminal Milton Glaser "Dylan" poster, 1966.

Milton Glaser "Best of..." LP series, circa 1965.

Victor Vasarely "Arcturus II" poster, 1971.

If you're not familiar with Fab.com, they are dedicated to providing good design to the world. According to their About page, "Everyone, everywhere can benefit from good design." I totally agree. If you're not already a member, I offer you a personal invitation ... just click this link.

Postmodern Posters by Milton Glaser

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:39:58 -0600

Milton Glaser (1929- ) co-founded the seminal postmodern design shop Push Pin Studios in 1954 alongside Seymor Chwast, Edward Sorel, and Reynold Ruffins. Many people consider Glaser the cornerstone of American graphic design during the latter half of the twentieth century. But while historically I have not been a proponent of the postmodern movement in graphic design, lately I've become more interested in Glaser's posters. The twist of humor and snark he infuses into his work (something popular in postmodernism) meshes with my personality in many ways. Here are just a few examples taken from the January/February 1969 issue of Print magazine.

School of Visual Arts poster, 1966.

Section of Mahalia Jackson poster, 1967.

Film Festival poster, 1967.

Bob Dylan portrait, 1967.

Rejected poster for Museum of Modern Art Dada-Surrealism show, 1968.

And while we don't have any of Glaser's posters in stock at New Documents at the moment, we should have a couple soon. In the meantime, we have plenty of book and album cover designs by Glaser and the other designers at Push Pin that are definitely worth a look. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Thrifting

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:25:33 -0600

Since last week was a holiday, Kate, Izzy and I packed up for our yearly drive to Minneapolis to visit our family for Thanksgiving. And of course, every time we go for a long drive thrift shop stops are definitely necessary! Over the course of the week I picked up a nice selection both for our own collection as well as for New Documents, but we also left many interesting things behind for various reasons. Here are a few of those objects that "got away."

At first glance, I thought this little side table was a piece by Alvar Aalto. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a knockoff. The construction of the legs is the big tip off here: Aalto's stools are only laminated at the bend. The legs on this example were 100% laminate. Close, but no cigar.

It nearly killed me to leave behind these dimpled Blenko tumblers, which were designed by Winslow Anderson (c. 1941). I've found many of them in the distant past, but none in many years. After several phone calls to friends, however, I couldn't find anyone that wanted them! So with limited space in out little Honda Civic, I left them behind for someone else to pick up.

This pair of gravy boats from Mikasa's "Duplex" dinnerware by Ben Seibel (1971) was cute, but they are much later than the Seibel work I prefer. I'm sure some of my Etsy seller friends might gasp at me leaving these behind, but I did and don't feel bad about it.

Typical of Dansk, these candlesticks exude Scandinavian elegance. If they were a Jens Quistgaard design I would have grabbed them in a heartbeat. Unfortunately they weren't. I still haven't ben able to attribute the design to a specific Dansk designer, so if you have any ideas please leave a comment.

This is a great example of the Zanesville Stoneware Company's "Stoneage Modern" line of pottery (c. 1960). I'm cheap, though, and thought the thrift store overpriced it.

And speaking of overpriced "Stoneage Modern," this example in an antique store caught my eye because of the rare cobalt blue glaze. If it was priced better I would have considered buying it for our collection, but the cost was prohibitive.

The cost for this amazing Blenko pitcher by Winslow Anderson (1949) was not prohibitive at all, especially for it being in an antique store The vendor had no idea at all what they had, though, so I could have grabbed it for a song. No room in the car made that decision hard, though, and we ultimately left it behind.

On the trip home, we met up with our friends Steve and Naomi, who were also heading home from their Thanksgiving in Chicago. Meeting up along I-94 to hit a thrift shop together is turning into a kind of post-Thanksgiving tradition for us, and this year we turned up four nice Heller "Max-1" salad plates by Massimo Vignelli (1964) for our friend Barry, who collects the line.

At the same shop, I passed up a 1950s bentwood chair by Thonet. If it were an Eames bentwood chair, I definitely would have figured out how to cram it in the car. There was no way that was happening for a Thonet piece, though.

Steve was kind enough to document this years meetup with this quick snapshot of Kate, Izzy and I. We all hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Vera for Fall

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:26:45 -0600

It's been a few months since I last posted a batch of Vera scarves. We've collected 15 more examples to add to our collection since July. Here are a few of my favorites.

Vera Neumann scarf: Brushwork zig-zag stripes in green and yellow.

Vera Neumann scarf: Tribal pattern in browns, orange and turquoise.

Vera Neumann scarf: Op art divided stripes in black and white.

Vera Neumann scarf: Brushwork chrysanthemum petal abstraction in gold.

Vera Neumann scarf: Brushwork landscape with stripes and sun in green, orange and gold.

As usual, the rest can be seen on our set of Vera scarves on Flickr. Enjoy!

New Acquisitions

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:26:15 -0600

I know I post a lot here about my shop, New Documents, and the great midcentury modern graphic design I sell there. But not everything I buy is for the shop. Not even close, really. And to prove it, here are just a few selections from my recent acquisitions added to my personal collection.

Sheep Rock by George R Stewart. An E. McKnight Kauffer dust jacket cover design for Random House, 1951.

The Confessions of Zeno by Italo Zvevo. An Alvin Lustig dust jacket design for New Directions, 1946.

Selected Poems by Ezra Pound. An Alvin Lustig dust jacket design for New Directions, 1949.

Shalespearian Tragedy by A.C. Bradley. An Alvin Lustig paperback book cover design for Meridian Books, 1955.

A History of the Early Church by Hans Lietzmann. An Elaine Lustig paperback book cover design for Meridian Books, 1961.

If you are interested in more from my collection, check out my recent interview about collating Alvin and Elaine Lustig book covers over at Obsessionistas. You can also browse higher resolution images in my Flickr sets of Alvin Lustig, Elaine Lustig Cohen, and E. McKnight Kauffer book covers from my collection.

Joe Young, Midcentury Muralist

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:21:17 -0500

In 1953, mosaic artist Joseph L.Young (1919-2007) was commissioned to create a mural for the Los Angeles Police Facilities Building. Young and his team spent two years fusing six tons of steel, copper, aluminum, and glass into one of the highlights of the artist's career. Measuring thirty-six feet long, Young's mural was built of over 250,000 tiny pieces of mosaic glass, all placed by hand, and finally erected in 1955.

Young's mural was cantilevered between two columns, and depicts the architectural landmarks in the history of Los Angeles.

Craftspeople, working under Young's supervision, placed thousands of tiny glass fragments by hand to create the finished mural.

Joe Young and an installation foreman inspect his mosaic for the Los Angeles Police Facilities building.

A detail of the finished mural, depicting Los Angeles harbor.

If you'd like to learn more about Young and his work, his two daughters Leslie and Cecily have launched a Facebook page about their father: the Joseph L. Young Fan Page. In fact, when they contacted me about some images of Young on my Flickr account, I donated the magazine these scans were taken from to their collection. It seemed to me that this piece of documentation would best archived with the artist's family.

All images from American Artist, September 1955.

Halloween at New Documents

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:58:18 -0500

In honor of the holiday, here are just a few examples of midcentury Modern graphic design to fit the Halloween theme from the archives of New Documents. Masks, skeletons, and general creepiness ... all achieved in a wonderful Modernist aesthetic.

Designer: Alex Steinweiss, 1950.

Designer: Anonymous, c.1960.

Designer: George Giusti, 1968.

Designer: Lawrence Ratzkin, 1969.

Designer: Keith Sonnier, 1970.

Designer: Ian Pollock, 1983.

I hope your holiday is filled with many treats ... and that you can avoid the tricks!

Ravenware Ripoffs

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:31:41 -0500

Back in 2006 I found a perforated metal magazine rack that I attributed to Richard Galef's Ravenware line for Raymor. The construction is spot-on with documented pieces of Ravenware as are the materials, so with the help of a fellow collector I felt confident in making the attribution.

Flash forward five years and enter another collector friend, Jonathan Goldstein. Jonathan is a significant force in scholarly research of midcentury modern design, and his work with the designs of Paul McCobb and Arthur Umanoff is unparalleled. Lately he's also been looking into Richard Galef's ouvre, and he approached me with some surprising news: the magazine rack I was certain to be Galef's work was instead by a company called Duchin, which was distributed by major department stores. It's not a Richard Galef design!

Color me embarrassed. This Macy's advertisement, provided by Jonathan along with other period references, ran on January 16th of 1955 and clearly shows my rack along with a few other pieces from Duchin's line of perforated metal furniture. The same ad interestingly also includes a telephone stand thats a dead ringer for a documented Ravenware piece. Jonathan has been interviewing Mr. Galef for a larger article about his work, and in those discussions Richard shared that racks with a seam on the perforated metal are actually a copy of his design for Raymor!

The real Ravenware telephone stand (shown at left from an original Raymor Ravenware merchandising brochure) doesn't have the metal band running vertically midway on the perforated metal portion like the Duchin knockoff (shown at right in a closeup from the same advertisement above). Short of that detail, the Duchin piece is virtually indistinguishable form Mr. Galef's original design.

I still love my magazine rack, despite it not being a Richard Galef design, and it continues to live in our home filled with all the latest issues of Modernism Magazine and Atomic Ranch. My original post about it, however, has been removed from Ars Longa so I'm not perpetuating any bad information. Thanks to Jonathan for moving forward our understanding as a community of Modernism enthusiasts.

Aldo Tambellini's Abstract Expressionist Films

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 08:52:21 -0500

Avant Garde filmmaker Aldo Tambellini broke new ground with his abstract expressionist moving images. His frenetic and stark images, at times projected in conjunction with live performances, recall the work of many New York School painters, which is evidenced by his treatment of film as a total sensory experience. His work on screen has been compared to works on canvas by Modern masters such as Jackson Pollock and Yves Klein.

Blackout video. Aldo Tambellini, 1965.

New Documents is currently offering a series of posters depicting Tambellini's videographic imagery. These substantial and visually stunning pieces were published by Reinhold Visuals as teaching aids in graphic design and fine arts classrooms.

Black Zero film still poster. Aldo Tambellini, 1965. Reinhold Visuals, Portfolio 8 (Space), Image 22.

Black Zero film still poster. Aldo Tambellini, 1965. Reinhold Visuals, Portfolio 6 (Movement), Image 13.

Black Zero lumigram poster. Aldo Tambellini, 1965. Reinhold Visuals, Portfolio 5 (Color), Image 17.

Black Video film still poster. Aldo Tambellini, 1965. Reinhold Visuals, Portfolio 7 (Perception), Image 16.

Black Zero film clip poster. Aldo Tambellini, 1965. Reinhold Visuals, Portfolio 6 (Movement), Image 21.

Any of these posters, either alone or in series, would add a significant graphic punch to your home or studio. If you have questions or special requests, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

LogoSpotting

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:11:10 -0500

When I'm out digging through junk shops, thrift stores, estate sales, and the like, I often run across some brilliant piece of branding from yesteryear. I have a thing for vintage logos, so this post marks what hopefully will become a series of articles showcasing some of the more interesting pieces I see in my travels. Enjoy!

Famous-Barr logo, circa 1950.

Hilti logo, circa 1960.

Sylvania "Study Light" bulb packaging, circa 1975.

Detecto floor scale, circa 1940

Lawson hardware, circa 1970.

Horton wringer, circa 1940.

The Richard Dorso Collection

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:55:49 -0500

Long-time collector Richard Dorso recently passed away at age 101, and left behind an amazing collection of art that spans much of 20th century art history. An exhibition of his collection is currently on public view in an exhibition titled Collecting Los Angeles 1945-1980 at the Los Angeles Modern Auctions showroom in Sherman Oaks, CA. The show concludes with an auction of Dorso's estate on October 9th at LAMA. While this collection is full of notable works, here are a few of my favorites:

Lot 17: Josef Albers - MMA Pillars. Screenprint, 1970.

Lot 38: Piero Dorazio - Untitled (blue). Gouache on paperboard, 1964.

Lot 95: Alexander Calder - The Black Line. Lithograph, 1967.

Lot 104: Adolph Gottlieb - Hieroglyph. Drypoint, 1944.

Lot 170: Bridget Riley - Untitled (Fragment 7).

Lot 179: Artist unknown - Untitled (Study of Male head and forearm). Pencil on paper, 20th century.

Lot 400: Ben Shahn - Futility. Woodcut, 1960.

Photography courtesy of Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) and used with permission.

ThriftBreak Meetup Recap

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:37:18 -0500

Last weekend was the first annual #ThriftBreak Meetup in Chicago, a gathering of like minded thrift shopping and midcentury modern loving folks from Twitter (and Facebook). I personally think the day turned out to be a great success, and it was great to finally get to meet so many of the folks I talk to online all the time. Here are a few highlights from the event.

My big find of the day was this set of Russel Wright American Modern wine glasses. I picked them up at Thrift & Dollar in Aurora, which turned out to be the hot spot of the day. All of us walked out with an armful of something or other!

Big thanks to Barry for planning our map for the day. He's a seasoned Chicago thrifter, and brought us to some spectacular shops! Barry's big find at Thrift & Dollar was this enormous enamel bowl by Kaj Franck for Finel. It really was a stunning piece!

But out of all of us at Thrift & Dollar, I think Katherine from BackGarage and The Vintage Bazaar came out on top in terms of quantity. Much of what she found was yellow plasticware, which was a source of amusement for most of us. It really made a huge visual impact all together in her cart! She also came out with an enormous cork and chrome lamp from the 70s. Kevin and Alison, active #ThriftBreak contributors and owners of an amazing shop called Bit of Butter, mentioned when they saw a photo tweeted that these lamps have been attributed to Laurel ... although they've not seen definitive proof of that attribution.

As an aside, the day after the meetup I took a little side trip to a couple antique malls in Chicago that specialize in midcentury modern design ... and look what I saw!

Barry, Leilani, and Katherine at the check out counter at another one the stores we visited. I wish I had a photo of some of Leilani's finds from the day ... some serious vintage fashion! I'm sure she'll eventually post some of it on her blog, Thriftaholic.

Steve from Prairie Arts & Ceramics showing off one of his big finds of the day, a Barbara Willis platter. Barry was actually who spotted the platter first, but he grabbed it and gave it to Steve, who is a big fan of her work. That's how we #ThriftBreak'ers roll ... always looking out for our fellow thrifters! Bravo to you, Barry!

After a long day of thrifting, Steve's mom June invited us all over to her home for a gigantic home-cooked meal, some show & tell, and a little vintage swap. Clockwise from the head of the table: Steve, Katherine, Leilani, Melissa, James and Barry.

Katherine, Leilani, and Melissa show off some of Steve's Zanesville Stoneage Modern ceramics.

And of course I'm tweeting something.

Cheers to everyone who attended! I hope we can do it all again soon. I'm already thinking about planning more meetups in other cities. If you have requests or ideas, I'd love to hear from you!

Special thanks to Steve for the last two photos.

Save Richard Neutra's Kronish House

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:21:18 -0500

Late last week, I had the opportunity to have a brief email conversation with Dion Neutra, seminal Modernist architect Richard Neutra's son, about an alarming situation in Beverly Hills. Neutra's Kronish House, a 1955 International Style masterpiece, is on the verge of destruction and we as a community of Modern design enthusiasts only have a couple of days left to try to save it. There are still several things you can do to help, but assistance must come quickly. Demolition may start as early as tomorrow!

First, please sign the petition that will help buy the Neutra Institute some time to acquire the Kronish before it is demolished, with the ultimate goal of converting it into The Neutra Library. This would preserve the legacy of two icons: the Kronish House; and Richard Neutra himself

Second, you can make a donation to help Dion achieve his goal of preserving the Kronish as The Neutra Library. These donations are tax deductible.

Third, email this letter to the mayor and city council of Beverly Hills asking them to step in to help The Neutra Institute and Dion Neutra stop the Kronish House from being demolished and acquire it as a public asset.

The Kronish House exterior from the south

The Kronish House exterior breezeway

The Kronish House entryway

The Kronish House dressing room

The Kronish House living room and bar

The Kronish House pool and fireplace

The Kronish House at night

All photos are courtesy of Getty Images, and were provided by Dion Neutra and used with permission. All rights reserved.

Musical Chairs

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:22:22 -0500

What happens when you mix midcentury album covers with Modern chair designs? I'm not quite sure, but at least it's fun! Modern furniture was often used on the LP sleeves of the era. Here are just a few examples I've seen and taken note of. Enjoy!

Sincerely Yours ... Robert Goulet [1962] shows "Mr. G" perched on a bentwood lounge chair designed by George Mulhauser for Plycraft. Photo courtesy of Christian Montone on Flickr.

The Swingin's Mutual [1962] by the george Shearing Quintet with Nancy Wilson. Real Eames chairs this time. Maching armshells, in fact! Photo courtesy of froggyboggler on Flickr.

Gold Award Hits '67' [1967]. What? Is that the pedestal base to a Saarinen (or Saarinen lookalike) Tulip table? Weird. Photo courtesy of Epiclectic on Flickr.

Billy Vaughn Plays [1959] featuring Billy Vaughn resting his foot on a lookalike Eames DCM. Can anyone ID this specific chair design? Photo courtesy of lorenztom on Flickr.

Moments to Remember by Vincent Lopez and Enoch Light [1957]. Whew! Jayne Mansfield and Ib Kofod Larsen's shell chair! I'm feeling lightheaded. Photo courtesy of flickr4jazz on Flickr.

Who has others? I'd love to see/hear about similar pieces.