44
45
True Heritage
100+10 Years of True Evolution
1919 dimensions:
93 cm backrest height
50 cm seat height
90 cm armchair width
2019 dimensions:
98 cm backrest height
45 cm seat height
97 cm armchair width
After exactly one century, the most
classic and well-known capitonnée leather
model in the history of Poltrona Frau, said
to have been custom designed by Renzo
Frau for Prince Filiberto Ludovico di Savoia,
comes back to life with a new name, size
and proportions. Everything seems to have
changed, but the original spirit has remained
intact.
Roberto Lazzeroni observed the 1919
armchair from every angle, sat on it, touched
it and experienced it. He realised that the
proportions were no longer suited to the
needs of modern comfort. So, he lowered
the seat, increased the internal width, and
raised the backrest to obtain a more relaxed
and informal position. He then added a foot-
rest to create an even cosier lounge chair.
The upholstery has been lightened through
a careful process of subtraction; the famous
capitonnée motif of the back is maintained
but made less dense by reducing the number
of stitches; the pleated work with uphol-
stered buttons on the sides of the wing chair
has a simplifi ed design that conveys a more
modern image, as does the curled pleating
of the armrests. The coff ee table has been
made larger to accommodate the high-tech
devices that accompany contemporary life.
Just as with Chester Line, the 2019 arm-
chair maintains the same internal structure
as the original model, with a load-bearing
frame in solid seasoned beech, the suspen-
sion with biconical springs fi xed on jute belts
and horsehair padding. Handsome, refi ned,
and comfortable, the 2019 armchair is ready
to experience the next hundred years with
the same quiet elegance.
(1919) — 2019
Renzo Frau
2019
(reissue of the 1919)
45
True Heritage
