As far as mid century modern furniture makers go, Lane of Alta Vista, Virginia is probably amongst the easiest to find information about. I believe this is partly due to the fact the company itself, still in existence, provides information about its history and that Lane has so many devoted enthusiasts and collectors! So, I am not going to rehash all of the research that blogs like Cause A Frockus have done - but you should go give the posts a read!
In brief, for a bit of background, Lane started from a box company, later became famous for their cedar chests which they began producing in 1912, but eventually diversified their offerings to include furniture!
Cedar chest production at the Lane factory - photo credit www.southernrailfan.net
Another fun tidbit is that you can identify the date that your piece of Lane furniture was made in the factory by reading the serial number backwards. For instance the underside of the Lane Perception table reads: 164040 means that the table was produced 04/04/1961! The style number 222-55 tells you the line is Perception 222 and the table design 55.
I decided to focus this week's deep dive on one line, which we are offering this week in our shop drop: Lane Perception!
Another exciting aspect of researching Lane's mid century modern offerings is that there is information about who designed the line!
In the case of Lane Perception, the designer was Warren Church. Unfortunately, aside from his name and being attributed as the head designer for Lane starting in 1959, I was unable to learn much more about him 😒.
It does seem that at the time that Lane Perception was designed, inspiration came from Scandinavian design. Lane Perception is similar to Lane Acclaim in its curved design, however Lane Perception also included a bit of extra pizzazz!
See how the Lane catalog described it below:
“The “sculpture in wood” look reaches its ultimate refinement in this beautifully executed Scandinavian collection. Tops display huge , undisturbed expanses of rich gunstock Walnut with bordered edges that taper smoothly into softly rounded contours. All legs have the same softly sculptured quality, with not a single sharp edge or corner visible anywhere. A unique accent on drawer and door fronts is achieved with woven wood, a genuine weave of actual walnut strips in an interesting textured pattern.”
We scanned some pages of the catalog to share with you! Compare the catalog images to the actual items that we are offering this week and past sold items!
Lane Perception Drop Leaf table and Chairs coming to this week's drop!
Lane Perception Tallboy and Lowboy available in this week's drop!
Perception Full/Queen Headboard Available in the week's drop
Perception end table and coffee table previously sold
Do you have any info about Lane furniture or Warren Church? Let us know in the comments!
Here's a fun little video about our Lane Perception bedroom set!
I have a Lane cedar Love Chest with a serial number 2285180. This could translate into a production date of 08/15/82, but what does the extra 2 signify? More than one of that style on that date?
I have a Lane Perception Cedar Chest. I have only seen one other ever. Do you know where I can get info on it? Thank you