Desk and armchair Bruno Paul Austrian Jugendstil Birch and Pear Wood circa 1907 manufactured by the Vereinigte Werkstatten fur Kunst im Handwerk Munchen

In 1897, Bruno Paul, along with Richard Riemerschmid and others, founded the Vereinigte Werkstatten fur Kunst im Handwerk Munchen. During this time, he also worked as a caricaturist for „Simplicissimus“ and designed furniture and entire interior furnishing projects.

The desk with armchair is part of an ensemble , which also includes the subsequently shown vitrines. Bruno Paul designed a very similar desk around 1903 to furnish the gentlemen‘s study at Faber-Castell Castle in Nuremberg. The ensemble has an interesting provenance, since it was owned by the first German gynecologist, Dr. Hermine Heusler-Edenhuizen (1872-1955). A contemporary photograph from the 1920s clearly shows the desk in her Berlin apartment or practice.
Paul designs the desk in a compact kidney shape. He decorates the outside of the furniture with geometric inlays and vibrant mirrored veneers.

The “inner values” of this workstation, with its many sophisticated stowage and storage options, both on the seat side and on the front of the desk, also hint at the modern designer Bruno Paul.
Using this elegant interior design object as an example, it is easy to understand why Bruno Paul has also made a name for himself as an interior designer for yachts and luxury liners.

The ameublement was owned in the 1920s by Dr. med. Hermine Heusler-Edenhuizen (1872-1955), the first female German gynaecologist, and has been in family possession ever since.
First design 1903-1906 for the interior of the gentlemen's study in the Faber-Castell mansion, Nuremberg
Bib.: contemporary photograph in Hermine Heusler-Edenhuizen, "Du mußt es wagen! Lebenserinnerungen der ersten deutschen Frauenärztin" ("You must dare! Life Memories of the First female German Gynaecologist"), Rowohlt, Hamburg 2001, p. 113