The ever-popular Clam Chair has long been one of the most mysterious pieces of furniture on the Danish market—who is the true designer behind this remarkable piece? While it has often been attributed to Danish architect Philip Arctander, this claim is based on weak evidence and lacks substantial documentation. In light of this, two design enthusiasts set out to explore the origins of the chair, and their findings are published here for the first time. The duo consists of German journalist and furniture historian Oliver Fischer (@facesofdanishmodern) and American Zephyr Renner (@zephyrleifrenner), who has dedicated years to studying Danish furniture.
With its club-shaped legs, rounded armrests, and distinctive seat design, the Clam Chair truly stands out among its contemporaries, which are more firmly rooted in Danish furniture history. The Clam Chair introduced a fresh perspective to the design landscape. Some describe it as cute, while others consider it naive, but all agree that its unique aesthetics have made it a highly sought-after and valuable piece on the vintage market. This allure contributes to its enigmatic status. For years, collectors have invested significant sums in acquiring the chair, often pondering the question: Who originally designed and crafted this remarkable piece?
When the Clam Chair first captured the attention of the design market in the mid-nineties, several theories emerged regarding its creator. Initially, Viggo Boesen (1907-1985) was speculated to be the designer, followed by a certain Martin Olsen. Eventually, in 2013, the design community reached a consensus that the chair was created by architect Philip Arctander (1916-1994) and produced by Nordisk Staal- og Møbel Central. However, we can now conclude that this attribution is incorrect. We are now convinced that the true creator of this unique chair was the Danish upholsterer, designer, and furniture manufacturer Arnold Madsen (1907-1989).
Not familiar with the name Arnold Madsen? You’re not alone. His name remains one of the best-kept secrets in the Danish design world, despite his role in designing and producing one of the most sought-after chairs globally. Madsen was the founder and co-owner of the firm Madsen & Schubell, which created several successful models for the Nordic furniture market between 1945 and 1965, including the 'Pragh' chair and the MS-9, now commonly referred to as the 'Oda' chair.
What indicates Arnold Madsen as the creator?
The evidence for this is quite compelling. First and foremost, there are three reliable witnesses who unanimously confirm that Arnold Madsen is the designer: Johna Madsen (daughter of Arnold Madsen), Flemming Schubell (son of Henry Schubell, Madsen's business partner), and Ole Christian Hassing (son of Sigurd Hassing, Vik & Blindheim's sales agent). Based on their descriptions and documentation, which essentially align, it is clear that the history of the Clam Chair needs to be completely reconstructed.
Johna Madsen, daughter of Arnold Madsen
Born in 1943, Johna grew up hearing stories about Madsen & Schubell's business ventures, particularly the story of the Clam Chair. Although she has no memory of the chair's creation, as she was only one year old when it was designed, she does recall growing up with the chair in the Madsen home, where it remained throughout her childhood. Other family members also had copies, including her uncle, to whom Arnold Madsen gifted a chair.
She recalls visiting her father in the basement workshop on Gothersgade in the heart of Copenhagen, where Arnold himself was carpentry and upholstering the small production of the chair. The chair held significant importance for him, as it was the piece that set everything in motion for Madsen & Schubell.
Until then, Madsen had lived a rather unstable life. He emigrated at a young age to America, where he worked as a sailor and an unskilled craftsman. After returning, he settled in Copenhagen and trained as an upholsterer. In the early thirties, he became self-employed, and in 1943, he moved into the workshop premises on Gothersgade, where he began renovating furniture for other manufacturers and customers. However, it wasn’t long before he started working with pencil and paper himself.
Flemming Schubell, son of Henry Schubell
"My father was an experienced carpenter and worked as a foreman at the renowned furniture company Winther & Winding," says Flemming. "One day, an upholsterer came in with a plaster seat that he needed help making a frame for. He had been around town asking various cabinetmakers, but they had all turned him down."
"The chair was a clam. My father quickly realized that making such a frame would be challenging—but not impossible. The proposed back construction was so weak that a traditional joint wouldn't withstand the load. So, Henry developed a special joint that did not require the backrest to be connected directly to the seat. However, it was so complicated to make with a bandsaw that no one wanted to tackle it. So, Henry made these privately, while the frame itself was produced by Winther & Winding," Flemming explains. Arnold Madsen and Henry Schubell recognized the potential for collaboration, and shortly after their first meeting, Henry Schubell was offered a partnership, which he accepted.
Ole Christian Hassing, son of Sigurd Hassing
In 1945, the production of the Clam Chair began in earnest for the new furniture company Madsen & Schubell, and they got off to a terrific start. This is evident from the fact that many well-known stores included Madsen & Schubell's designs in their assortments. The largest furniture store of the time, Illums Bolighus, was one of them, along with Nordisk Staal and Møbel Central. The latter has long been incorrectly attributed as the manufacturer of the chair; in reality, it was a dealer of the chair.
A few years later, Madsen & Schubell expanded their business into the growing international market. In 1953, at the large furniture fair in Fredericia, they met the Norwegian representative Sigurd Hassing, who worked for the prominent Norwegian furniture company Vik & Blindheim. Hassing recognized the significant sales potential of the chair and entered into a license agreement with Madsen & Schubell, allowing the Norwegian manufacturer to produce their designs in Norway, including the Clam Chair.
Hassing's son, Ole Christian, recalls: "My father had to convince Arnold and Henry of the potential of the collaboration, which eventually succeeded, leading to a lasting friendship between our families. There was a long business relationship between my father and Madsen. It was never a secret that Arnold Madsen was the designer behind the chair, but he had no need to put his name on it. After all, he was not a recognized and trained architect."
Madsen & Schubell ceased production of the chair at their Copenhagen workshop around 1953, although the chair continued to be manufactured by Vik & Blindheim in Norway. A 1958 catalog from Vik & Blindheim features the chair alongside three other models that are undoubtedly from Madsen & Schubell's workshop. Additionally, there is an advertisement from this period that Vik & Blindheim placed in the magazine *Møbelfabrikanten*. In this advertisement, four chairs are displayed, three of which are unquestionably Madsen & Schubell designs. Is there any other possible explanation for the fact that these four chairs belong together, as they all originate from the same source?
Ad credit: @arkivalium.
What about the documentation?
There are no construction drawings of the Clam Chair—and for good reason. As an upholsterer, Arnold Madsen had not learned to create technical drawings. As his daughter Johna explains, "He did a lot of tinkering and always shaped his models by hand. He wasn’t good at sitting down and sketching for hours. He made the first model of the Clam Chair out of plaster, which was the model he used to approach a cabinetmaker." Unfortunately, this model no longer exists, but Flemming Schubell, who joined the workshop as a cabinetmaker in 1958, confirms that it remained in the workshop for many years as a cherished reminder of the company's founding.
There are also valid reasons for the absence of Madsen & Schubell advertisements; they did not sell their furniture directly to customers. As mentioned earlier, Madsen worked with selected furniture dealers. They carefully chose one dealer in each major city in Denmark, except for Copenhagen, where multiple dealers were permitted to sell Madsen & Schubell's designs. Retailers like Illums Bolighus and Bovirke advertised under their own business names, not their suppliers', which included Madsen & Schubell. There was an unwritten rule that furniture sold through a dealer could not be stamped by the manufacturer, and this policy also applied to Madsen & Schubell's furniture.
But there is other substantial evidence. Among this is a song written by Madsen & Schubell employees in January 1957 to celebrate Arnold Madsen's 50th birthday:
Under krigens mangler måtte mangen polstrer stå for fald,
(During the war's shortages, many an upholsterer had to face ruin,)
hvis man ikke ku' få men'sker anbragt i en muslingeskal.
(if you couldn't get people into a clamshell.)
Det fik Arnold lært en masse
(Arnold learned a lot from that)
og se, det gav vældig kasse,
(and look, it paid off big time,)
men for at det nu skal gå,
(but to keep it going,)
må han stadig hitte på.
(he must keep on inventing.)
’Muslingeskal’ is the aforementioned Clam Chair.
However, the strongest physical evidence is related to the previously mentioned advertisement from the magazine Møbelfabrikanten. After Arnold's death, several images of his designs were discovered in his desk, clearly intended for marketing purposes. Among these was a cut-out photo of the Clam Chair, which is identical to the photo used in the Vik & Blindheim ad featuring the four chairs. This can be determined by the angle of the chair, the fabric, and the grain of the wood. The only explanation for the Madsen family possessing the original photograph is that Arnold Madsen is the creator of the Clam Chair.
Image of two Clam Chairs previously sold in KLASSIK.
And what about Philip Arctander?
The theory that Arctander was the creator of the Clam Chair relied on the testimony of his friend, architect Poul Erik Skriver, who confirmed the attribution—but without any supporting documentation. Skriver, who was in his 90s at the time, has since passed away, making it impossible to elaborate on his assumption. We believe that, when considering his claims alongside the findings of the investigation mentioned above, the evidence strongly supports that the Clam Chair was designed by Arnold Madsen and produced by Madsen & Schubell.
If you would like more information, you can watch Flemming Schubell discuss the chair on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf0ttZAWw8I.