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Paul Dupré-Lafon for Hermès, Paris

Price Code: SOLD

Reference: 5979

A rare, three-piece desk set designed by Paul Dupré-Lafon for Hermès, Paris, comprising desk blotter with original paper, a silver-plated perpetual desk calendar, and a square glass cube inkwell with lid, all with conforming base sections covered in dark red hand-stitched leather. All French, circa 1940s.

Each piece marked HERMÈS PARIS in gold to the underside.

Inkwell size: 5 x 5 x 3 inches (13 x 13 x 8 cms)
Blotter size: 7½ x 4 x 4 inches (19 x 10 x 10 cms)
Calendar size: 4½ x 4 x 2 inches (11 x 10 x 5 cms).

Paul Dupré-Lafon (1900 – 1971) was an architect and designer who from 1929 through the end of the 1950’s collaborated with the leather goods manufacturer Hermès to produce a wide range of items for the office and home, all embellished with leather supplied by Hermès. Born to a family of successful merchants in Marseille, he moved to Paris in 1923 and soon established himself as a furniture designer. In 1929 he received his first major commission to create the interior scheme for a townhouse on the rue Rembrandt.This achievement brought him many subsequent commissions for domestic interiors, offices and stores.

Dupré-Lafon had a keen affinity for both practicality and luxury – his furniture is modern and functional yet at the same time sleek and luxurious, it is crafted from the finest materials and woods in lieu of extraneous ornamentation, and it is often grand in scale and geometric in form. Dupré-Lafon, whose soubriquet was ‘decorateur des milliardaires’ preferred patronage, favouring unique private design commissions to Salon appearances or the arena of exhibitions. Dupré-Lafon’s work has always attracted collectors with good taste and ample resources – as far back as 2005, a Dupré-Lafon coffee table achieved almost $500,000 at auction in New York, four times its estimate.







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