I love flipping through mid-century magazines to look at the ads - both because of the copywriting (oh, the days we body copy was paragraphs long) and for mid-century design inspiration. I was recently doing just that when I came across this little jem: a two page spread for the Broyhill Premier Invitation collection.
It looks a lot like the Broyhill Sculptra collection with the squares motif, however the Invitation collection also has reed details as well.The ad really speaks to the changing design sensibilities of the time. The first paragraph reads:
What a wide, wonderful freedom of choice Invitation gives you! This dramatic grouping includes thirty-seven prestige pieces in sophisticated Transitional styling ... all design-related so you can correlate your rooms in the best modern taste ... all harmoniously at home in either modern or traditional surroundings ... many so versatile in style and service they can be used in virtually any room in the home.
I think I have the side board thats pictured in this ad. It was part of a dining room set that I acquired from my grandparents YEARS ago. The table and the 10 chairs have long ago fallen apart but the sidebaord is still in great shape. Do you have any other info from this line of even a larger photo?
ReplyDeleteI did my best to find more info about the line but couldn't find anything. If I do come across anything I'll post about it. As for a larger version of the ad, try here and you can zoom in:
ReplyDeletehttp://books.google.com/books?id=m1YEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA94&dq#v=twopage&q&f=false
If it does turn out you have the same sideboard, I'd love to post some pics of it. If you have some handy you can email them to: midcenturyaustin (at) gmail.com
I will email pics today! I have just re-purposed this side board (please don't hate it) as a media cabinet. I removed the center drawers for components and stripped the original finish down to bare wood and used tounge oil to finish. The old finish was worn and the tabe and 8 chairs had long ago fallen apart.
ReplyDeleteI have the hutch/credenza (2 piece) in the back of the picture next to the yellow chair. I've been trying to find information on it. Do you know what year the ad is from? I bought it at a garage sale about 10 years ago for $50 as they were putting it out. They had another piece, now I'm sorry I didn't buy it too. I painted the hutch/credenza and was trying to sell it. Now I think I may keep it and refinish it. I'll send you some pictures of it.
ReplyDeleteThe version of this ad that I found was from 1957. What I know of the Broyhill Invitation line, it was produced in the late '50s and maybe early '60s. I'd love to see your photos and I'll see what other info I can find about the Invitation line. I did find one other ad for it, which you can see here: http://www.madformidcentury.com/2013/04/vintage-broyhill-premier-furniture.html
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