Collecting Knoll 1960-2000

This website focuses on the furniture no longer in production and of interest to collectors. The period covered is 1960 to 2000. I have tried to discover more about the designer and their designs. Some designers for Knoll were able to offer new designs over several decades.

It is here I need to make a distinction. Knoll furniture that has remained in production since it was introduced is not collectible. It can still be purchased and enjoyed. The Charles Pollock No. 657 armchair had been out of production for many years and therefore collectible, but in 2014 Knoll reintroduced the chair. The chair’s availability was no longer finite.

There are a few other distinctions. The focus is on furniture but some of Knoll’s designers also designed accessories, such as Charles Pfister who designed glassware, and Sergio Asti who designed ceramic and marble pieces. However, the marble and glass pieces designed by architect and industrial designer Angelo Mangiarotti and introduced by Knoll in 1968 are not included because the Mangiarotti Collection did not include furniture.

Finally, I had to make the decision not to include office systems. These systems are diverse, are designed solely for the commercial market, and the individual pieces don’t lend themselves readily to a residential environment. The Christen Office System, Stephens Office System, Zapf System, Hannah Desk System and the Morrison System have been excluded  but may be mentioned in passing for information purposes, or be the subject of a blog post.

Although several formerly discontinued pieces, like the Mies van der Rohe Tugendhat Chair and the Morrison-Hannah Task Armchair and Occasional Chair have been reintroduced, the designs described and illustrated here at Collecting Knoll will most likely never be produced again and are becoming increasingly rare as collectors discover them. Although this site covers the mid- to late-century decades, the 2000s and 2010s will be added to this site when a sufficient number of discontinued designs warrant inclusion in Collecting Knoll.