Late 1950’S G Plan ” Librenza” Hall Or Writing Table

Late 1950’s G Plan ” Librenza” hall or writing table

Very few British makers made hall/console tables in the 1950s /1960s and 1970s. This design dates to the late 1950s and would be made until 1962/3. After this the next similar sized piece was for the Fresco range in the late 1960s. Other than this the only other makers to produce tables like this were Archie Shine and A Younger. There didn’t seem to be much demand at the time so not many such pieces were bought, but today they’re very popular. British people rarely bought small desks at the time.

G Plan produced an extensive range of pieces in this Italian style in a wood called tola with ebonised legs and detailing and small brass caps. One piece was a room divider /bookcase which they called a Librenza and today many people wrongly call the whole range ” Librenza ”. As with all G Plan the quality is really good even though they were a middle market maker. Traditional cabinet making skills were still being used on all their pieces well into the 1970’s. Today you can only find this degree of quality from expensive top end companies. In 1959 this piece would have cost you £19 19shillings, which is the equivalent of about £540 now according to the online inflation calculator. Most people at this time couldn’t afford to buy extras like this as they concentrated on sideboards and matching tables and chairs.

Condition
Cleaned and oiled and looking really nice with no obvious marks or scratches. The legs had some knocks so we’ve cleaned them back and carefully resprayed them. They are now looking great again. As with all vintage furniture you must expect to see some minor signs of wear if you look very closely.