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S. Hille & Company, London; Eight English Art Deco Birdseye Maple High Back Dining Chairs
of good scale and quality, circa 1930; each high back dining chair with beige leather upholstery and birdseye maple frame, for S.Hille & Co, London, consisting of two arm and six side chairs, having a vasiform splat above a tight seat; raised on graceful splayed supports; professionally refinished; minor wear and patina to later leather upholstery;
The Hille Furniture Company was founded in 1906 in London's East End. Historically, the business had created reproduction antiques and during WWII was commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum to repair their antique furniture collection that was damaged during the bombing raids in London. The business was temporarily saved at the end of the war by exporting Chippendale style furniture to America. The Hille Company was transformed in 1949 when they collaborated with two designers, Robin Day and Clive Latimer, who had won prizes for furniture design from the New York Museum of Modern Art. Together, the company changed direction designing furniture, not for retail but for architects and large projects, such as the Royal Festival Hall in 1951.