A SHORT HISTORY OF THE PARSONS TABLE

My favorite thing I have ever helped make, ever,  in my entire life is our Parsons table. I swoon over furniture that has a modern feel but evokes a sense of tradition, and when I first discovered the Parson's table, I fell in love with it's neat lines and elegant stature - a paradox of strength and delicacy.

At first glance, it's a simple concept - yet something about the design is unexpected, and so intentional. Because of my compulsive need to know, I researched the design's origination.

• While there are several versions of the Parsons table's history, the generally accepted tale you're most likely to hear is that the table was born at the Paris Branch of the Parsons School of Design in the 1930's. 
• The story goes that design legend, Jean-Michel Frank, "challenged students to design a table so basic that it would retain it's integrity whether sheathed in gold leaf, mica, parchment, split straw or painted burlap, or even left robustly unvarnished." (Quote) 
• While again, the story varies, according to school records, the Parsons table (originally called the "T-Square table") emerged from Frank's work with the American designer Joseph B. Platt and an unknown student: a simple table, distinguished by it's square legs - always the same width as the table top, regardless of it's length or width.
• Favorite fact: the first model was built by the school janitor. 

Knowing the history of something you own is inspiring, and the things made with your own hands are often the most exhilarating.


photo found here.