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Gispen is the best known Dutch maker of tubular steel furniture, and the name gets attached to almost every chrome chair on Marktplaats. Original pre-war and postwar Gispen chairs exist in good numbers, the company makes reissues today, and there are countless look-alikes. Labels, construction and the seat tell them apart.
Vintage originals: chairs made by Gispen in the 1930s through the 1970s, designed by W.H. Gispen himself and later by designers like André Cordemeyer and Wim Rietveld. These range from elegant cantilever chairs to sturdy office and school chairs.
Reissues: Gispen still exists and has reissued classic tube designs. These are official, well made and expensive new, so a used reissue is a legitimate buy. Look-alikes: tubular chairs by other makers, plus listings saying Gispen stijl or Gispen look. Some are good vintage chairs in their own right, they are just not Gispen.
Many Gispen chairs have or had a label: a metal plate, a sticker or a stamp, often under the seat or on the frame. Labels were easily lost, so a missing one does not rule out an original, but its presence helps a lot. Ask the seller for a photo underneath before you arrange a pickup.
Reissues usually carry current Gispen branding and sometimes a reference to the original design year. A chair with a modern label is a reissue, not a 1930s piece, and should be priced that way.
Bring a small torch and look closely.
Reupholstering a seat and back is affordable and often improves a chair. Rechroming the frame costs much more and is only worth it for a desirable model. Light surface rust can usually be removed with fine steel wool and a chrome polish; deep pitting stays.
Price a damaged chair on what it will cost to make it usable, not on the name. A Gispen label does not make a bent or cracked frame a good deal.
Postwar Gispen office and canteen chairs are the most common and the most affordable. Offices, schools and churches cleared them out by the hundred, and they turn up in sets. Pre-war cantilever chairs and armchairs are rarer and priced accordingly.
Sellers often list them as oude buisstoelen without a brand. A plain-language search on vindje.com for something like a set of four chrome tube chairs with original Gispen labels can pick these out of the descriptions.
Thonet made the Breuer and Stam cantilever chairs (S32, S64 and relatives) that many people call Gispen. Kembo, another Dutch maker, produced tubular chairs and tables that look very similar to Gispen's postwar work. Ahrend office chairs, including Friso Kramer's Result chair, are also often mislabelled.
None of these are fakes. They are separate makers, and several are collectible. Just check that the price matches the chair you are buying, and ask the seller where the Gispen name came from: a label, a receipt, or a guess.
| Item | Typical asking price |
|---|---|
| No-name tubular chair, Gispen style | EUR 15-60 |
| Postwar Gispen office or canteen chair | EUR 50-200 |
| Vintage Gispen cantilever dining chair | EUR 150-450 |
| Vintage Gispen tube armchair | EUR 300-1000 |
| Used Gispen reissue chair | EUR 200-600 |
Rough Marktplaats asking prices in the Netherlands. Condition, age and season move them a lot.
Describe what you want in your own words and vindje.com searches Marktplaats in Dutch, then reads every listing and keeps only the real matches. For example:
Set of 4 vintage Gispen tube chairs, chrome frames, original label, upholstery can be worn, under 400 euro, within 60 kmSearch Marktplaats like this
Look for a Gispen label, plate or stamp under the seat or on the frame, and check that the tube work and construction match documented models. Without any mark, treat it as unconfirmed.
W.H. Gispen founded the company and designed the early tube furniture. Later Gispen designs came from designers including André Cordemeyer and Wim Rietveld.
Small rust spots and light pitting are normal and can be cleaned. Large areas of flaking chrome or rust through the tube are expensive to repair.
Yes, Gispen is still in business and has reissued several of its classic designs alongside modern office furniture.