Stealing is okay.

Okay, so I didn’t actually steal this wonderful, original Paul McCobb desk. I just didn’t necessarily tell the owner how valuable this piece is.

I always keep my eyes peeled for interesting, inexpensive furniture pieces to come up on Craigslist.  I peed a little bit when I saw this desk because I loved the clean lines.  The hubby wasn’t into it.  Then, I sent it to one of my besties and she peed a lot.  I had no idea this was a piece designed by Paul McCobb but she, being much smarter than I, instantly recognized it.  After a couple excited conversations, I was ordered to purchase this immediately.

The desk is in pretty good shape – very solid, no major damage.  It has surface wear though, but that’ll be easy to restore without stripping the piece.

Here are a few more detail pics.



Here’s a little more about Paul McCobb, the designer (via Wikipedia).

Paul McCobb (June 5, 1917 – March 10, 1969) was a modern furniture and industrial designer. McCobb was born in Medford, Massachusetts to Raymond and Winifred McCobb. Both his father and mother were born in Massachusetts although neither family originated there. His father’s family being from Maine and his mother’s family from Ireland. His father was employed in 1920 as a Salesman in “Men’s Furnishings”.

Knowing from a very early age that he wanted to be an artist, McCobb studied art, drawing and painting at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston, although he did not complete his course there.

McCobb enlisted in the Army as a Private on December 5, 1942 in Boston, MA.[3] While enlisted in the Army he was attached to the Camouflage Corps of the Army Corps of Engineers. He only served in the military for a short time and was released on a medical discharge in 1943.

McCobb first came to prominence in 1948 as a design and decorating consultant for Martin Feinman’s Modernage Furniture in New York City. While employed at Modernage, McCobb met B. G. Mesberg, his later business partner in the Planner and Directional furniture lines.

Best known for his furniture designs he also designed radios and televisions for CBS-Columbia, Hi-Fi Consoles for Bell & Howell, along with other household items.
His Planner Group, manufactured by Winchedon Furniture, was among the best selling contemporary furniture lines of the 1950s and was in continuous production from 1949 until 1964.

Other well-known furniture lines designed by McCobb include Directional by Custom Craft, Predictor by O’Hearn Furniture, The Irwin Group by Calvin Furniture, The Connoisseur Collection by H. Sacks and Sons, The Calvin Group by Calvin Furniture, and The Linear Group by Calvin Furniture.

The plan is to fix this beauty up, use it for a bit in the office and then sell it and hopefully turn a profit (similar desks are selling for about $900).  In the mean time, I keep going out to the messy garage and lovingly staring at it.  :)

I’ll keep you updated as I make progress on fixing ‘er up.