Dutch furniture company UMS Pastoe was established in 1913 by German-Jewish entrepreneur Frits Loeb and became rapidly successful largely owing to its reputation for well-made tables and chairs. Today, however, the brand is best known by collectors for the modular sideboards, storage cabinets and other spare, streamlined case pieces that it produced during the postwar years.
Influential mid-century modernist designer Cees Braakman had been creating furniture since his teenage years when he was promoted to head of design at Pastoe in 1948. The Utrecht-born designer took over for his father, Dirk Braakman, who had by then been managing the company for more than 20 years and had designed a variety of furnishings for the manufacturer by himself. A year before he assumed his new role at Pastoe, Cees visited the United States where he became enamored with the designs of Charles and Ray Eames and the other creative minds associated with legendary American furniture manufacturer Herman Miller.
While many Dutch designers who are now celebrated by vintage furniture collectors — names like Gerrit Rietveld and Friso Kramer are in this list — found inspiration in Piet Mondrian and the country’s De Stijl art movement, they also looked to Scandinavian modernists such as Alvar Aalto and Americans such as the Eameses. Cees Braakman was no different.
Braakman’s 1940s-era tour to the States included a visit to the Herman Miller factory in Zeeland, Michigan. At the time, architect-designer-journalist George Nelson was director of design at the firm and had enlisted a range of designers to collaborate with Herman Miller and create what are now icons of mid-century modernism. Braakman took notice of industrial manufacturing techniques at HM and in particular, the company’s innovations in furniture design owing to experimentation with molded plywood and fiberglass-reinforced plastic.
The Dutch designer introduced the first line of modern furniture at UMS Pastoe thereafter — a table, a chair, a bed and more created in molded plywood and featuring oak veneers, specifically tailored for smaller living spaces. Braakman was convinced that Pastoe should move on from the restrictions that a collection or set of furniture presented to consumers. Furniture for a bedroom, for example, should be practical and built as individual pieces that could be adapted as more space became available. New production methods and creative marketing came into focus under Braakman’s leadership, and his own lines of oak and birch furniture — which were created around cupboards that could be reconfigured as needed, or armchairs that could be combined to form a sofa — earned acclaim and were commercially very successful.
UMS Pastoe was recognized for its innovative furniture at the Milan Triennial in 1957 and Le Signe d’Or in Belgium, and Cees Braakman’s work can today be found at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Over the years, designers such as Jan van Grunsven, Radboud Van Beekum and Rob Eckhardt collaborated with UMS Pastoe.
Find vintage UMS Pastoe furniture on 1stDibs.
Italian modern white metal bookcase by Kriptoninte, 1980s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian modern white metal bookcase by Kriptoninte, 1980s Wall-mounted bookcase with two bays made entirely of white painted metal. It features te...
Metal
$5,850
H 65.16 in W 45.67 in D 16.54 in
Ernest Igl for Wilhelm Werndl Shelving Cabinet in Off-White Polyurethane
By Wilhelm Werndl
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Ernest Igl for Wilhelm Werndl, shelving sideboard, polyurethane, Germany, 1970/71 Ernest Hofmann, also known by his artist name 'Igl', recently gained an international audience for ...
Plastic
$926 / item
H 37.8 in W 14.18 in D 11.03 in
Rexite Venezia – Free-Standing Bookcase design Enzo Mari - White - 5 Shelves
By Rexite, Enzo Mari
Located in Varedo, Lombardia
Model: Venezia – Free-Standing Bookcase Design: Enzo Mari Free-Standing Bookcase Venezia is a column-style shelving system with softened lines, featuring rounded and shaped edges t...
Steel
$1,563 / item
H 47.25 in W 22.84 in D 14.18 in
21st Century Modern Steel White Bookshelves Wave Made in Italy
By Favaretto & Partners
Located in Sant'Elena, IT
The Wave series is the result of a gesture, a natural movement that gives birth to sinuous and minimal forms without neglecting the functionality of the object. It consists of wall s...
Steel
$1,195 / item
H 35.44 in W 22.84 in D 14.18 in
21st Century Modern Steel White Bookshelves Wave Made in Italy
By Favaretto & Partners
Located in Sant'Elena, IT
The Wave series is the result of a gesture, a natural movement that gives birth to sinuous and minimal forms without neglecting the functionality of the object. It consists of wall s...
Steel
$716 / item
H 29.53 in W 10.24 in D 10.24 in
Bookcase / Bookshelf Opinion Ciatti Ptolomeo 75 design Bruno Rainaldi - White
By Opinion Ciatti
Located in Varedo, Lombardia
Brand: Opinion Ciatti Model: Ptolomeo 75 Collection: Original Ptolomeo Design by: Bruno Rainaldi Original Ptolomeo is the self-standing bookcase that needs no introduction: essentia...
Steel
$4,362 / item
H 59.06 in W 59.06 in D 11.82 in
Leyva High Bookcase in Glossy White Finish by Giuseppe Viganò
By Saba Italia, Giuseppe Viganò 1
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The Leyva table is made of painted iron rod welded into a grille of uniform squares. Sophisticated and unintrusive, Leyva decorates the living room with a light, contemporary touch. The Leyva collection also includes a latticework bookcase with the same design, a cleancut and essential silhouette. Its willowy minimal contours conjure up an airy lightness. Whether it is wall-mounted or free-standing, it will easily blend into any setting. Perfect for modern settings and a seamless solution for industrial surrounds, it could also bestow an unexpected twist on more classical décor. Moveable shelves and the base, for floor version, are in coated sheet metal. The designer Giuseppe Viganò...
Iron
Cross Bookcase in Ashwood White by Carlo Contin
By Carlo Contin
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Bookcase in ashwood, supported and structured by the primary design geometry of a diagonal cross. The distinctive feature of the Cross bookcase by Carlo Contin for Meritalia is its ...
Wood
$13,257Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 80.71 in W 86.62 in D 23.63 in
Modern Large Accent Bookcase with Shelves White Lacquer Brushed Stainless Steel
By João Faria, EMOTIONAL OBJECTS
Located in Vila Nova Famalicão, PT
The ExCentric 1.0 Bookcase listed here is made of white lacquered wood and brushed stainless steel. However, we can also produce this in customized options: Structure: Stainless steel (polished or brushed), brass (polished or brushed), or lacquered steel (in any RAL colour). Shelves: Another kind...
Metal, Stainless Steel, Cut Steel, Steel
$8,777Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 61.03 in W 86.62 in D 21.66 in
Modern Accent Bookcase with Shelves in White Lacquer & Brushed Stainless Steel
By EMOTIONAL OBJECTS, João Faria
Located in Vila Nova Famalicão, PT
The ExCentric 1.0 Bookcase listed here is made of white lacquered wood and brushed stainless steel. However, we can also produce this in customized options: Structure: Stainless steel (polished or brushed), brass (polished or brushed), or lacquered steel (in any RAL colour). Shelves: Another kind of wood (walnut, ebony macassar, tineo, black oak, ironwood) or lacquer colour (any RAL colour). Dimensions: Large Bookcase (220 x 60 x 205 cm - 86,6 x 23,6 x 80,7 in). Custom sizes are available after analysis. You can try it in your space using Augmented Reality with your mobile phone (ExCentric 1.0 Collection, available on our website). Assembled piece. Given the weight and size, it will be delivered in a wooden box packed in bubble wrap. Please let us know if you have any other questions about the piece. This piece is entirely made in Portugal...
Metal, Steel, Cut Steel, Stainless Steel
Pastoe A'Dammer Roller Shutter Storage Cabinet
By Aldo van den Nieuwelaar, Pastoe
Located in Toronto, CA
Designed in the 1980s by Aldo van den Nieuwelaar for UMS Pastoe, the Amsterdammer bookcase brings rhythm and refinement to everyday storage. Its signature slatted tambour doors, roun...
Plastic, Wood
Aldo van den Nieuwelaar Wall Desk by UMS Pastoe, Grey Wood, 1985
By Aldo van den Nieuwelaar, Pastoe
Located in Toronto, CA
A masterclass in restraint and rhythm. Designed in the 1980s by Dutch designer Aldo van den Nieuwelaar for UMS Pastoe, the ‘Amsterdammer’ wall desk takes the utilitarian DNA of a sec...
Plastic, Wood
Mid-Century Modern Solid Elm Shelving Unit by Maison Regain, 1950s
By Maison Regain
Located in Toronto, CA
1950s Solid Elm storage unit from French manufacturer Maison Regain, known for their timeless pieces of quality work. Featuring a top drawer that hinges and pulls out, 2 ample bottom...
Wood
Eames Molded Plywood Folding Screen by Charles & Ray Eames, White Ash
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Toronto, CA
The typical zig-zag format of a screen is brilliantly surpassed in this iconic design by Charles and Ray Eames, originally designed in 1946. Composed of six ten-inch sections of mold...
Wood, Ash
Post-Modern Corner Cabinet by Willy Rizzo, Laminated Wood, 1970
By Willy Rizzo
Located in Toronto, CA
This cabinet has the head-turning magnetism of a celebrity, and no wonder: it’s by Willy Rizzo (1928 – 2013), a photographer of the mid-century jet set who turned to furniture design...
Laminate, Wood
Curvy Wood Cabinet, Post-Modern Design, Nine Drawers, France, 1970s
Located in Toronto, CA
A sculptural take on classic storage. This tallboy twists tradition with its undulating silhouette and rich, honeyed wood grain. Each of the nine narrow drawers is a little offbeat, ...
Wood
