Karl Springer (German 1931-1991) Dining Table plywood, timber and parchment (74.5cm high, 244cm long, 122cm deep (29 3/8in high, 96in long, 48in deep)) A designer and manufacturer of luxury furniture and accessories, Karl Springer was born in Berlin in 1931. Springer studied bookbinding and worked as a window dresser in a clothier, until his emigration to New York in 1957. There, he began the application of his bookbinding skills to the creation of jewel boxes, telephone tables, and desk accessories, all of which he wrapped in animal skins and other exotic materials. As these works began to elicit enthusiasm from figures such as Diana Ross and Frank Sinatra, Springer opened a shop on 1st Avenue and an atelier on East 53rd Street. He later opened a main showroom and operating several workshops throughout the city, by 1983 owning additional showrooms in Miami, Los Angeles and Tokyo, with branches in Munich and Chicago. Within these workshops, pieces were assembled by many different craft specialists, of which many had travelled from Europe and Asia, with skills in lacquering, batiking, woodworking and leatherworking. Springer drew inspiration from a multitude of sources, such as interior designers Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann and Jean-Michael Frank, as well as the German Bauhaus, French Art Deco and African Ashanti art. Basing his designs on classical, European forms, Springer advanced these notions of design through bold proportions, exotic materials and bright palettes that align him with his American clientele. Springer’s works encompassed a huge variety of exotic materials, such as parchment, wood veneers, metals, rare woods and granite. However, his furniture wrapped in lacquered animal skins remains most notable. These skins included goat, lizard, alligator, python and frog. Springer was equally credited for his revival of shagreen and chevreau leather, both of which had last been popular in the 1920s. His use of these materials evokes a whimsical tone to the furniture, this aesthetic forming a parallel to the energetic Disco era of 1970s America.