In 1931 the English designer Gerald Summers (1899-1967)-creatorof the iconic bent plywood
armchair -and his partner Marjorie Butcher (1909-1996) opened their London shop Makers of
Simple Furniture. For almosta decade until closing in 1940 the firm produced hundreds of
ingenious designs in plywood. Conceived in Gerald's words as "furniture for the concrete age
" this singular body of work shaped the notion of the modern interior in Britain. Gerald
Summers & Marjorie Butcher: Makers of Simple Furniture 1931-1940 tells for the first time
the compelling story of the firm and its dedicated proprietors. Drawingon Marjorie's vivid
recollections and a wealth of unpublished material-including never-before-seen images personal
correspondence workshop documents and illustrated specification sheets-the book reveals the
magnitude of their achievements and restores a neglected chapter in the history of modern
design. This publication is made possible in part by a grant from the Graham Foundation
for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. GERALD SUMMERS (1899-1967) is one of the foremost
furniture designers of the twentieth century. Born in Alexandria Egypt he worked as an
engineer before starting his design career. In 1931 he and his partner MARJORIE BUTCHER
(1909-1996) opened Makers of Simple Furniture in London. They managed the firm for almost ten
years producing hundreds of pieces for the modern home. In 1940 wartime exigencies brought an
end to the enterprise. They redirected their energy to Gerald Summers Ltd. a supplier of
engineering parts. MARTHA DEESE is an authority on Gerald Summers. She earned a master's
degree in decorative art history from Cooper-Hewitt Museum Parsons School of Design New York
and worked for three decades as an administrator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York.
Her groundbreaking article on Summers and his firm Makers of Simple Furniture published in
the Journal of Design History in 1992 remains the principal source on the designer.
