In Vienna’s Neubau district, a beautiful Biedermeier townhouse has been home to the Werkstätte Carl Auböck for more than 100 years. Inside the workshop, where production continues to this day, countless objects line the shelves, walls, tabletops and desktops.
The Viennese artist and designer Carl Auböck II was one of the quirkiest and most delightful and collectible of modern designers. A rather odd duck in the world of decorative arts, he was a peculiar talent whose specialties included smaller desk accessories and tabletop pieces such as corkscrews, paperweights, letter openers, bookends and bottle stoppers. He rendered these pieces in a combination of metal — most often brass — and such elemental materials as leather, knobby wood and animal horn, creating forms that could be almost Surrealist, from hands and feet to keys, birds and amoebae.
As a boy, Auböck was precocious and artistic. He studied drawing and at the same time trained in the workshop of his father, Karl Heinrich Auböck, a popular maker of traditional bronze figurines and collectibles. In 1919, Carl II went to Germany to study at the Bauhaus, where he was a pupil of the progressive artist and theorist Johannes Itten. While the Bauhaus is most associated with the rigidly ordered, functionalist architecture of its directors Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the school was in reality a liberal, spirited place — a crucible for imaginative, playful and avant-garde art and design. It was this spirit that imbued Carl II’s work from the time he left in 1921.
In 1922 or ’23, Carl Auböck II returned to Vienna to help care for his ailing father, and he took over the business. He created the Werkstätte Carl Auböck and a legacy that earned his objects cult status among collectors. The business was passed on to his descendants, who run the atelier that is still in operation today. Today, objects designed by Carl II make up 90 percent of Werkstätte Carl Auböck’s production, joined by the creations of architect and designer Carl IV, his grandson.
Vintage Auböck designs have a special character, a patina that only emphasizes how much the pieces have been loved and used. Carl Aubock II’s small furniture items — leather- or caned-sling magazine racks; free-edge wooden side tables with tubular bronze legs; wicker serving trolleys with turned beechwood wheels — are elegant and purposeful. His bijoux desktop objects, library tools, ashtrays and barware pieces evince a kind of mirthful practicality. They seem to ask: “If you need a corkscrew, or a paperweight, or a candlestick, why not make it fun as well as functional?” And indeed, why not?
Find a collection of vintage Werkstätte Carl Auböck mirrors, seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Rare Mid-Century Modern Cane-Wrapped Walnut Brass Cigarette Box Carl Auböck II
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Vienna, AT
A superb example of Mid-Century Austrian design, this iconic Cigarette Box (Model #3656) was designed by Carl Auböck II in the 1950s and handcrafted at the renowned Werkstätte Auböck...
Brass
Vintage Italian Pencil Cane and Brass Planter / Basket
Located in Vienna, AT
A sophisticated mid-century modern decorative basket or planter, handcrafted in Italy during the 1970s. This piece is a quintessential example of the Hollywood Regency era. The item...
Brass
Vintage Italian Pencil Cane & Brass Umbrella / Basket
Located in Vienna, AT
This elegant cylindrical umbrella stand (or wastepaper basket) is a quintessential example of 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern design. It features a sophisticated combination of natu...
Brass
Monumental Mid-Century Fat Lava Floor Vase with Rare Movable Ceramic Handmade
Located in Vienna, AT
An extraordinarily rare and monumental 66 cm (26 inches) tall West German Fat Lava floor vase, showcasing a masterclass in mid-century exper...
Ceramic
Mid-Century Modern Carl Auböck Leather-Wrapped Glass Pitcher and 6 Tumblers Set
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Vienna, AT
An exceptional and highly collectible mid-century modern beverage set designed by Carl Auböck II and produced by the renowned Werkstätte Carl Auböck in Vienna, Austria, circa 1950–19...
Leather, Glass
Rare Mid-Century Modern "G" Clothes Brush by Carl Auböck III
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Vienna, AT
This iconic "G" shaped clothes brush is a quintessential example of Austrian modernist design from the 1960s. Designed by Carl Auböck III and handcrafted in the renowned Werkstätte A...
Walnut
Beautiful 1960s leather paper bin by Torben Ørskov & Co Denmark
By Torben Orskov
Located in München, DE
Beautiful 1960s leather paper basket by Torben Ørskov & Co. Made in Denmark. Made of robust, thick brown saddle leather. Can, of course, be used for other purposes as well. Very stur...
Leather
1950s Carl Auböck Stamped Austrian Leather & Brass Loop Handle Wastepaper Basket
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in St. Louis, MO
An exceptional, rare, and highly collectible Mid-Century Modern wastepaper basket, designed by the master of Austrian "tactile modernism," Carl Auböck II (1900–1957), and hand-crafted at the prestigious Werkstätte Carl Auböck in Vienna, Austria, circa 1950s. Officially designated as Model No. 4202 in the archival Auböck workshop records, this exquisite piece features a beautifully tapered cylindrical form—measuring 7.88 inches in diameter at the top and elegantly narrowing to 5.88 inches at the bottom—meticulously hand-wrapped in a rare white/cream-toned thick double-cowhide leather. The basket features structural vertical seams bound by contrasting, robust black hand-stitching that beautifully frames the piece. Serving as the design's signature focal point is a heavy, organically sculpted teardrop-shaped cast brass/bronze loop handle mounted to the front via a leather loop sleeve. The interior reveals a rich, warm natural cognac leather lining. Distinguishing itself entirely from common modern replicas and unauthorized reproductions, this rare vintage original features the definitive workshop hallmarks. Besides the proper dimensions, the bronze handle is crisply hand-stamped "Auböck" alongside the official "Made in Austria" origin mark, providing ironclad provenance for the serious collector. A quintessential example of the Bauhaus and Wiener Werkstätte traditions that defined the Auböck workshop, this functional objet d'art showcases an incredible, authentic original patina. Offered in very good vintage condition with age-appropriate light wear and minor scuffing to the white leather exterior, this investment-grade desk accessory is a magnificent addition for discerning collectors of fine mid-century Austrian design. Carl Aubock leather bin, Werkstatte Carl Aubock basket, Austrian mid century desk accessory, Vienna modern brass handle, Bauhaus waste basket leather, Illums Bolighus Aubock, Tactile modernism object, Luxury leather paper bin, 1950s Vienna office decor, Rare white leather basket.
Bronze
Round Danish Mid Century Paper Waste Bin in Patinated Leather, 1960s
Located in Stockholm, SE
Rare Danish mid century paper waste bin in patinated leather produced around 1960s. In good original condition. Dimensions: H: 29 cm / 11.40" Diameter: 24 cm / 9.45"
Leather
Wastepaper Basket of Genuine Cognac Core Leather, 1970s
Located in Silkeborg, Silkeborg
Round European vintage wastepaper basket from the 1970s. It's made of strong genuine cognac colored core leather with incised pattern and visible stitchin...
Leather
Paper Waste Bin in Patinated Leather Made for Firma Svenskt Tenn, 1960s
Located in Stockholm, SE
Unusual paper waste bin in leather. Produced and sold at Firma Svenskt Tenn, Stockholm in the 1960s. Hand made and sewn with brass handles. The bin comes with a smooth surface in goo...
Brass
Waste Bin in Patinated Leather, Illums Bolighus, 1950s, Dainsh Midcentury
By Illums Bolighus, Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Lejre, DK
Waste bin in beautifully patinated leather and brass. Made for Illums Bolighus in the 1950s. Great original condition. Made in Denmark.
Brass
