D.847.1

Overview

D.847.1 is a writing desk by Gio Ponti, designed in 1947 and reissued by Molteni&C in 2021. The page describes a curved top inspired by the form of an airplane wing, sweeping ends that soften the silhouette and a drawer with a subtly rounded front, all in solid wood.

Image source: Molteni&C — D.847.1 · © Molteni&C and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research. · View official product page ↗ · Image use & copyright policy

Construction

The structure and the drawer are solid ash (Fraxinus excelsior), painted in the product's honey stained variant. The top is a medium-density fibreboard support with solid ash edges, covered with ash veneer in the same finish. The feet are satin brass with a plastic floor support, and the drawer runs on wooden runners.

Specifications

• D.847.1, writing desk: 134 cm wide, 40 cm deep, 78.5 cm on the vertical dimension line (not labelled on the drawing)

A bachelor's bedroom, 1947

The datasheet places the desk in 1947, when Ponti designed a "bedroom for a bachelor", shown first at the Galleria del Sagrato, then at the RIMA exhibition at the Triennale, both in Milan, and finally at the XVI International Exhibition in Barcelona in 1948. After the war he had approached an important aircraft manufacturer that owned a factory for gliders, where wood and cloth were the common raw materials; the sheet calls the move into furniture, and also wooden toys, a natural step.

Aviation know-how

The page says that for the original production Ponti worked with that manufacturer and applied its aviation expertise to furniture. It names the small drawer with a rounded front as a feature that became a hallmark of many of his later works.