Danish Luxury

Design Furniture Fredericia

J39 Mogensen Chair

Børge Mogensen's plain wooden dining chair with a woven paper-cord seat, designed in 1947 for the Danish co-operative FDB and known as the People's Chair.

Designed by
Børge Mogensen
Made by
Fredericia
First made
1947

Visit fredericia.com

The J39 in oiled oak with a natural paper-cord seat
The J39 in oiled oak with a natural paper-cord seat
J39 chairs in oiled oak at a table
J39 chairs in oiled oak at a table

Pictures © Fredericia, from fredericia.com.

Why it is renowned

The J39 is known as the People's Chair: made without a break since 1947, it is handed down in families and used in restaurants and institutions around the world, among them the Royal Danish Academy of Music.1 It turned 75 in 2022.1

The story

Børge Mogensen, a student of Kaare Klint, designed the chair in 1947 for FDB, the Danish Co-operative Wholesale Society, which wanted well-made furniture ordinary households could afford.12 He simplified Klint's Church Chair of 1936: one gently curved backrest in place of four slats, and straight back legs.1 Fredericia makes it today.1

  • The Spanish Chair, Børge Mogensen's oak and saddle-leather lounge chair, 1958
  • 2213 Sofa, Børge Mogensen's sofa, first made for his own home in 1962
Sources
  1. Ideas Crafted to Last: J39 Mogensen Chair, Fredericia. fredericia.com, read 30 September 2026.
  2. History 1940-1960, Fredericia. fredericia.com, read 30 September 2026.

Last checked 30 September 2026, against the maker's own pages.