Two Vintage De Sede DS-85 Brown Leather Lounge Chairs, ‘A’ and ‘B’, c. 1970

Two circa 1970 de Sede DS-85 armless lounge chairs or club chairs in light brown leather. Offered individually, with ‘A’ being the darker one on the left, and ’B’ being the lighter one on the right.

This seldomly available design—especially Stateside—was introduced by de Sede in the 1960s shortly after the Swiss company’s founding in 1962. The very comfortable slipper-style seat and back each feature five channeled sections that drape like melting bar of chocolate over the top and front edges.

They’re finished in the original light brown aniline leather, with a partial exception regarding chair ‘A’ that we’ll detail shortly. Color in person is predominantly “Nougat” with a hint of “Whiskey” as those options appear on the de Sede website. Leather is soft and supple, with a handsome display of natural character and patina acquired over the years, and for which this type of tanning is known. Both chairs have been recently cleaned and conditioned from top to bottom. The exception regarding chair ‘A’ is as follows: The seat leather appears to have an intentional slightly more distressed or weathered finish than the leather on the body, giving it a somewhat different look, feel, and slightly darker tone. The leather on the body, however, is a perfect match to that on the seat and body of chair ‘B’.

A de Sede authorized showroom rep with whom we consulted in person regarding the matter suggested that this was likely original to its fabrication, as de Sede is known to have produced two-tone versions of its pieces, both for custom orders and for display models. That said, expertly executed reupholstery of the seat at some point after fabrication is perhaps a possibility.

Regardless of the reason, and while not a perfect match, the pair still looks quite nice together, and it would be great if they could continue to remain so.

The chairs are unmarked, but each does retain a label from a previous seller: Traquair, a since-closed Cornwall, England-based gallery that specialized in mid-twentieth century furniture, lighting, and art. We acquired both as part of a set of three de Sede pieces—including an eleven-element brown leather DS-600 Snake sofa that we offer in a separate listing—from an individual who purchased them together on 1stdibs eleven years ago.