Buying vintage design furniture in Le Havre

Le Havre's city centre has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2005, recognised as a work of modern architecture rather than a reconstruction. Auguste Perret and his studio rebuilt it between 1945 and 1964, in exposed concrete on a regular grid. The Perret show flat, furnished in period, shows how people lived in these spaces.

It is a unique case in France: an entire city designed and furnished in the fifties to a single logic. In families who have been there from the start, the Perret flats have kept the furniture bought for them. These ensembles are easy to document, because the architecture that dates the flat dates its furniture too. And since Le Havre is only 200 km from Paris, the logistics stay simple.

What we look for first

• We look first for French reconstruction-era furniture bought for the Perret flats: storage, light seating, tables and lighting by French makers of the fifties.
• Any piece from a home whose construction date is known interests us.
• We are glad to take the complete furnishings of a single flat.

1. 01

   Photographs

   Send us overall views, the marks, any wear and the dimensions. You can attach the photographs straight to the form at the foot of the page.

2. 02

   Valuation within 24 to 48 h

   We value from photographs wherever the piece is, so distance makes no difference to how quickly we reply. The valuation comes with an offer of outright purchase or consignment.

3. 03

   Collection

   In Le Havre, we arrange collection, and on an outright purchase we pay for it. A specialist carrier or one of our own runs handles it, and you have nothing to pack or dismantle. The 200 km or so from Paris go into our calculation, and we confirm the timing with the offer.

4. 04

   Payment

   On an outright purchase, we pay by bank transfer on the day of signature, within 48 working hours at the latest, and never in cash above legal thresholds. On consignment, you remain the owner until the sale, and we take a commission agreed in advance.

We can also come and value in person, usually from five pieces or for a configuration of real value. We work from Paris and Auxerre, and we have no establishment in Le Havre.

• USM Haller, every year and colour
• Ligne Roset, including the Togo collection
• Cassina, original editions and documented reissues
• Knoll, American and European editions
• Castiglioni, Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé, Vico Magistretti
• Italian mid-century from the fifties to the seventies, Scandinavian and Nordic modular systems

We leave aside mass reissues made after 2000, copies and pieces that cannot be identified, pieces too damaged to restore, and furniture with no design interest.

Are you interested in French reconstruction-era furniture?

Yes, all the more because it is often underestimated. For a long time people preferred Italian and Scandinavian work, but French makers of the fifties have risen markedly in value. The hard part is identification, because many pieces carry no mark. So photograph the undersides and the joints as well: they are what tell us most.