Desk Letter Tray by Florence Knoll for Knoll
Florence Knoll for Knoll Inc. / International
Design: 1950
Upgrade your (home) office with this original Florence Knoll design. This walnut and plywood, two-tier wooden and aluminum pivoting letter tray/desk organizer dates back to the 1950s and is still in good condition.
Condition
GoodDimensions
W19 / D38 / H29 cmDimensions
W19 x D38 x H29 cmOrigin
USAMaterial
WoodAbout the designer
Florence Knoll
Florence Knoll (1917–2019) was one of the defining figures of 20th-century design. As co-founder and design director of Knoll International, she reshaped the modern interior with an architectural clarity that still feels relevant today. Trained under Eliel Saarinen, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Breuer, she absorbed the essential lessons of the Bauhaus: that function and beauty are inseparable, and that good design must serve both purpose and human experience.
Knoll’s vision extended beyond furniture, she approached every space as a total composition, considering light, proportion, material, and flow with equal care. Her interiors for leading corporations of the 1950s and 1960s introduced a new language of modern professionalism: elegant, disciplined, and deeply human.
Alongside contemporaries like Eero Saarinen and Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll helped establish a design legacy that defined the American modern aesthetic. Her work remains timeless, characterized by restraint, harmony, and a belief that thoughtful design can elevate everyday life.
About the manufacturer
Knoll Inc. / International
Founded in 1938 in New York by Hans Knoll, and later joined by Florence Knoll, Knoll International became one of the most influential design companies of the 20th century. Built on the modernist principles of the Bauhaus and the International Style, Knoll redefined how the world furnished its homes and workplaces, bringing together architecture, art, and industrial production in perfect harmony.
Through collaborations with some of the era’s most visionary designers, including Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, and Florence Knoll herself, the company created a collection that reads like a history of modern design. Each piece was conceived not as a standalone object, but as part of a holistic environment, a “total design” philosophy that continues to shape contemporary interiors.
Today, Knoll remains synonymous with timeless quality and innovation. Its furniture embodies clarity, function, and refined beauty, a lasting testament to the belief that modern design can elevate everyday life.