Scale Coat Rack by Coen De Vries for Devo, 1950s

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About This Piece

Vintage Design

A first edition ‘Toonladder’ coat rack, designed by Coen de Vries in 1953 and manufactured by his own company DEVO in 1954. The coat rack is also known as ‘Notenbalk’.

The coatrack was designed for a model home of the foundation ‘Goed Wonen’ (Good Living) in Weesp, the Netherlands.

You can recognize this particular model (the first version of this coat rack) by its round tube frame and coat hooks made of curved plastic-coated electrical wire. The design was later modified by several other designers, such as Tjerk Reijenga for Pilastro, whose version comes in different sizes, with flat metal hooks and a square tubular frame. Tomade and Artimeta later put Reijenga’s design into production.

The original version is mounted on the wall with four screws. It is particularly rare due to the additional hat rack, which was an optional extra at the time.

Its name, ‘Toonladder’ (musical scale) or ‘Notenbalk’ (stave), comes from the shape of the curved hooks which symbolise the notes. These are manufactured in red and yellow.

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Creator	Coen de Vries
Manufacturer	Devo
Design Period	1950 to 1959
Production Period	1950 to 1959
Country of Manufacture	Netherlands
Identifying Marks	This piece is attributed to the above-mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark
Style	Vintage, Mid-Century, Postmodern
Detailed Condition	Very Good — This vintage/antique item has no defects, but it may show slight traces of use.
Restoration and Damage Details	Light wear consistent with age and use, Patina consistent with age and use
Product Code	MS-2450527
Materials	Metal, Plastic
Color	Black, red, yellow
Width	54 cm 21.3 inch
Depth	26 cm 10.2 inch
Height	199 cm 78.3 inch
Duties Notice	Import duty is not included in the prices you see online. You may have to pay import duties upon receipt of your order.

Shipping & Delivery

Ships from	Belgium
Duties Notice	Import duty is not included in the prices you see online. You may have to pay import duties upon receipt of your order.
Returns	Returns accepted within two days of delivery, except for Made-to-order items

Delivery Details

Delivery will be completed by a parcel service such as UPS, DHL, or FedEx.
You will receive a tracking number to monitor the status of your shipment.
Delivery will take place between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection.
Item will be left in its packaging after delivery.
A signature will be required upon delivery.

*Important Note

Please examine the packaging upon delivery. In the event that there are visible signs of damaged packaging, please indicate the problem on the Delivery Note, take pictures, and—if the item inside shows damages—contact us within 48 hours of delivery. A signed delivery receipt without notations regarding damaged packaging represents your acceptance of the completed order in perfect condition.

Sustainability

Carbon Neutral	For every purchase made, Pamono offsets 100% of estimated carbon emissions from global shipping.
Vintage	Choosing vintage and antique furniture reduces your carbon footprint by cutting down on waste and reduces demand for new materials and extends the life of the products we use.

Product Safety Information

Manufacturer Information	Devo
Additional Product Safety Information	Coat rack

About the Creator

Coen de Vries

Dutch industrial designer Coen de Vries was born in The Hague in 1918. From 1940 until 1946, he studied interior design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague under Dutch designer Cor Alons (1892-1967). During this time, he also studied on exchange at the Institute of Applied Art (IvKNO) in Amsterdam under visionary architect Mart Stam (1899-1986) and functionalist architect-designer Johan Niegeman (1902-1977). After graduating in 1946, de Vries became a member of the Amsterdam group known as “De 8” from 1947 until 1949. Founded in 1927, De 8 was an architectural avant-garde association that consisted initially of rationalist architects who were educated in the spirit of the Amsterdam School, such as Benjamin Merkelbach (1901-1961), Charles Karsten (1904-1979), and Han Groenewegen (1888-1980).

After graduating, de Vries established his own store named De Sleutel (The Key) in Amsterdam. Here he produced and sold his own designs as well as others, making him the first Dutch interior architects to do so. He produced practical, yet modern furniture at an affordable price in light woods with simple construction and upholstered in brightly colored fabrics.

The philosophy behind De Sleutel was in line with the views propagated by the Stichting Goed Wonen. Like many of his Dutch post-war contemporaries, de Vries was also a member of this Dutch organization. Founded in 1946, the Stichting Goed Wonen (Good Living Association) was a design and industry partnership that was committed to postwar reconstruction and quality-of-life improvements through good design. The group forged many strong collaborations between artists, designers, architects, manufacturers, and customers, which resulted in widespread interest in modernist design principles and aesthetics in the Netherlands. Between 1952 and 1961, de Vries designed five houses for the association in the cities of Weesp (1952-1953), Amsterdam (1956 and 1958-1959), The Hague (1957), and Utrecht (1961). In addition to his work for Goed Wonen, de Vries was often commissioned for the construction of private residential buildings and renovations of interiors.

Over the course of his career de Vries worked as an industrial designer for various manufacturers including Bruynzeel Cabinets, Devo, Eeka Furniture, Everest, Fröscher, Gispen, and Pilastro. De Vries’ work - which spans tables, desks, sofas, and accessories - includes a Model LV1 Coat Rack for Pilastro (1953), a desk in birch with an ebonized x-base for Devo (1954), the Delta Series for Lips (1959), the No. 1451 Chair for Gispen (1967).

Notably, from 1966 to 1972, de Vries was a member of the Council for the Arts, a national advisory board to the Minister of Culture, and from 1977 to 1980 he was a member of the Committee on Architecture of the Amsterdam Arts Council.