Tables by Lane

Over the past few years I have become increasingly aware of the necessity for context in research. At the very beginning of this project I was so narrowly focussed on getting information about Paul McCobb that I ignored anything else that wasn’t about McCobb. For instance, when I scanned the 1962 Lane catalog I entirely ignored the rest of it, only scanning those pages which dealt directly with Paul McCobb’s work. I later regretted this decision but there was really nothing to do about it as the catalog was in California and I wasn’t.


Fortunately life has conspired to make it so that I can finally right this egregious oversight, Gerard O’Brien of Reform Gallery (the fellow who has the Lane catalog) having decided to show select pieces from his Paul McCobb collection at the upcoming Los Angeles Antiques and Los Angeles Modernism shows at the Barker Hanger this April has called me in to work with him co-producing these Paul McCobb retrospectives, which means that once again I find myself in Los Angeles for an extended period of time with unrestricted access to what might be the very best privately held mid-century design research library on the planet. Yay!


While I am here, besides working around the clock getting the two shows up, I am also going back over the ground which I have already covered in my Paul McCobb research (in my off hours...) and this time making sure to acquire the background information to provide context to my main research materials. Amongst other things I have finally gotten a complete scan of that 1962 Lane Catalog.


Now I’m not about to blurt out everything I have learned about Paul McCobb’s involvement with Lane, after all I have to save something for the book which I have been diligently but ever so slowly putting together. What I would like to provide is some context in the form of identifying information for the other Lane groups in existence at the time Paul McCobb was designing for the company. So, without further preamble, here they are in the order in which they appear in the 1962 "Tables that make your room are made by Lane" catalog:


Dimension - Group # 1003
Acclaim - Group #900
Hy-Lite - Group #’s 928, 929, 930
Tuxedo - Group #921
New Amsterdam - Group #957
Chatham Hall - Group #958 and 959
Monte Carlo - Group #973
Award - Group #966 and 972
Rhythm - Group #997
Lido - Group #’s 975, 978, 994
Cosmopolitan - Group #209
Esteem - Group #983
Prophecy - Group #996 and 1006
Accent - Group #991
Calais - Group #’s 953, 954, 955, 956, 968, 969
Capri - Group #999
Regal - Group #1002
Perception - Group #908 and 990
Cameo - Group #967

Comments

  1. Dana@Mid2ModApril 3, 2011 at 10:41 PM

    I'm having an interesting email exchange with someone who recently bought a coffee table he thought was a Craft Associates piece by Adrian Pearsall. I thought it was by Lane after they obtained the company in the 70s, but neither of us is sure. I've decided, too, that Lane deserves another look. How I envy your access to all that wonderful information!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 6, 2011 at 5:37 AM

    Very Cool. I wasn't aware that McCobb had a connection to Lane... On a side note, I have a Lane coffee table that was trash-picked a year or two ago. I haven't been able to find out the name of the design (it's not pictured above) or production date. If you could give me any info, I would appreciate it!

    http://piccolotakesall.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/trash-picked-lane-coffee-table/

    ReplyDelete
  3. RyanApril 11, 2011 at 11:37 AM

    I have a set of Acclaim tables (coffee and 2 side) and they get mass amounts of compliments. If you ever find any of these Lane tables cheap, scoop them up because with a little clean-up they will look brand new. Crazy to think there was a time when mass-produced could also be quality-made. These are the sturdiest tables I have ever owned and am happy to see them get their dues 50-some years after their introduction. Love the blog and keep fighting the good fight.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Krazy4ModApril 11, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    I have admired many of the Lane lines for a long time, but, had no clue there were so many. Thank you for such an informative post and I too envy you for your access to such highly cherished mcm info.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jonathan GoldsteinApril 12, 2011 at 2:26 AM

    Sorry I haven’t been responding here folks. Setting up the Paul McCobb exhibition at the Los Angeles Antiques show has been pretty much all consuming for the past few weeks.

    Dana: I had no idea that Craft Associates was acquired by Lane!

    piccollotakesall: I’m afraid that what I know about Lane’s other groups is entirely encapsulated in what I have posted here...

    Ryan: Thanks for the kind words.

    Krazy4Mod: I’m glad you found the info useful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownAugust 2, 2013 at 10:10 PM

    I just ran across your blog as I was researching the Tuxedo line. Do you know if mccobb designed that line? Thanks, Pete

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jonathan GoldsteinAugust 2, 2013 at 10:19 PM

      Hi Pete

      Tuxedo was very clearly NOT designed by Paul McCobb.

      Delete
  7. UnknownJuly 21, 2015 at 6:17 PM

    Was the Hy Lite line McCobb?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jonathan GoldsteinJuly 23, 2015 at 10:06 AM

    Hy Lite was NOT designed by McCobb

    ReplyDelete
  9. PatriciaSeptember 12, 2015 at 7:31 PM

    McCobb did design Rhythym? Just making sure so when I sell a coffee table in shop, my info is accurate. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jonathan GoldsteinSeptember 12, 2015 at 7:36 PM

    No Patricia, Paul McCobb did not design Rhythm fo Lane.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2016 at 9:17 PM

    I wondered if the Prophecy line was designed by McCobb. I heard an offhand remark that it was connected to McCobb many moons ago but never found anything other than this blog to mention his work for Lane (besides the well known Delineator line) It's very hard to find anything on the Prophecy line either way.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jonathan GoldsteinJanuary 1, 2016 at 9:32 PM

    No Myrna, Paul McCobb did not design, nor have anything to do with, Prophecy for Lane

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2016 at 9:56 PM

      Thanks. The aluminum legs on it are very odd for Lane, but there's zip out there on this line in the archives I've checked (as is the case with many Lane designs because most were done by in-house design staff).

      Delete
  13. UnknownMay 12, 2017 at 2:43 PM

    I realize this is an old post but I have a question in hoping someone can answer. I purchased a dresser I planned to paint for my son's room. When taking the drawers out I found an old anniversary card which was dated in the 70s. I did some research and found its a lane dresser from the rhythm collection. Can anyone tell me how to find out more about it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJuly 17, 2017 at 1:40 PM

      It's easy to read the date of manufacture on a Lane item. It's the date in reversed mmddyy format: 365240 would translate to April 25 '63 (04-25-63). Sometimes there's an additional digit (e.g., 3652403) indicating either the third one made in a day or the particular factory where it was made (I've heard both explanations). Lane, mercifully, marked their pieces clearly with a (typically) 3-digit number to indicate the collection and a two-digit number to be the model within that collection.

      Delete
  14. UnknownJuly 18, 2018 at 1:28 PM

    Did McCobb design Chatham hall? I just received the cocktail table listed above group #959

    ReplyDelete

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