A rare pair of Christie Tyler Aeroplane Chairs, produced in Britain in 1947 and reimagined for the 21st Century. Price shown is for both chairs. 
 
In 1947 a British manufacturer created a chair with a historic pedigree and with a striking design that rivalled anything that had come out of the Bauhaus the decade before. The Aeroplane Chair echoed both Corbusier's and Breuer's curves and geometry, and literally flew in the face of Eileen Gray's Transat chair - but you would not be aware of it. Partly this is because they were native to the UK rather than being sold on a global stage, but mostly because in their original form they were, quite frankly, ugly. But if you strip away the paint and the overstuffed and flowery upholstery, you reveal something truly beautiful. 
 
Christie Tyler was not the name of an individual designer (as often falsely quoted regarding this chair) but the name of a furniture manufacturer founded in Watford in 1933. Like many factories of the time their production facilities were used for wartime manufacturing and this led the company to secure a contract to build seats for the Spitfire fighter plane.

That experience with aluminium was crucial. After the war, timber was still rationed while aluminium was plentiful, leaving the company uniquely positioned to repurpose aircraft expertise into furniture. When the company relocated to Bridgend in 1946, it became a large-scale manufacturer, these chairs are therefore not only striking examples of mid-century design but also direct products of Britain’s post-war transformation, when wartime engineering was adapted for domestic life - and the Aeroplane Chair belongs to its earliest, most experimental period. 
 
The design was radical for its time. The bent hollow aluminium frame was technically demanding to produce, far removed from traditional joinery. Beneath the seat is a patented tilting platform mechanism that allows the chair to dip gently when sat upon and then return to its poised form after use. The effect is more hammock like suspension than rocker, offering comfort and preserving the chair’s taut geometry. 
 
The name “Aeroplane Chair” was as much a marketing invention as a description, capitalising on Christie Tyler’s aviation pedigree and the nation’s fascination with flight. Associating a simple armchair with the engineering of the Spitfire turned a utilitarian object into a symbol of national pride. This placed it squarely within the wider post-war design movement. 
 
The 1946 “Britain Can Make It” exhibition showcased furniture made with aircraft construction techniques, including Ernest Race’s celebrated BA3 aluminium chair. Christie Tyler’s Aeroplane Chair sits in this same context of national experimentation with surplus materials and modern forms.
 
Christie Tyler grew into one of Britain’s largest furniture makers acquiring G-Plan in 1989 and Parker Knoll in 2005 before collapsing decades later, finally dissolving in 2022. The Aeroplane Chair, however, belongs to its moment of greatest invention, when austerity bred innovation and the language of modern British design was being written. 
 
Most examples were upholstered with heavy padding and painted in muted colours, obscuring the elegance of the frame. You'll occasionally see them come up at auction in this form and when you see an original you'll understand how easy it is to pass them by without a second look. 
 
This pair has been re-imagined to show them in their true light: the aluminium frames have been stripped and satin polished whilst still preserving some light marks and patina, the rocking mechanisms have been refurbished and equipped with new springs and the cushions have been re-foamed and reupholstered in smooth black leather. The result reveals the clarity of the original structure and restores the spirit of its experimental origins.
     
 
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