Pair of Lane Furniture Mid-century End Tables, Cosmopolitan Line

A pair of mid-century end tables belonging to Lane Furniture’s Cosmopolitan line by Paul McCobb from Snowdrift Antiques.
 
The Lane Furniture Company was founded in Altavista, VA in 1912. For decades they were known for their cedar chests.  By 1950 they saw Danish modern furniture imports begin to take hold in households. Paul McCobb was an American designer who designed several lines for Lane Furniture. One of those lines is the elusive and highly sought after Cosmopolitan line.
 
The Lane Cosmopolitan collection features walnut pieces with flowing, artistic lines highlighted by handcrafted Faience ceramic tile inlays. Faience tile is glazed terracotta tiles that are handmade from start to finish.  The tiles on the Cosmopolitan line are white with brown, concentric rectangles. They are slightly three dimensional with the lines of the rectangles being slightly raised. They are nicely glazed.  There are four sets of rectangles per tile and the tiles are arranged in two rows of three.
 
Underneath, a floating walnut shelf hugs the tapered legs.  Each leg is highlighted by a brass ring up top. The sides, and especially the back, have a beautifully curved edge with a slightly different stain for that just so, sculptured look.
 
These table are typically marked as Lane pieces are.  They have the Lane Altavista, VA mark along with the style number and serial number. The style number is 2096.  This tells us these are the “Lamp Table” from the Cosmopolitan line. The serial number on both is “858011” , which tells us they were produced on November 8, 1958. They measure 24” x 24 x 22 ½ high.
 
These tables are in excellent vintage condition. The wood grain and the tiles are in excellent condition.  The wood has been oiled lightly to relieve it from the Colorado dryness. The brass leg rings have been polished to relieve them from extreme tarnish. There is some pitting here and there but very little loss of color. There are no chips or cracks to the tiles, which after 64 years, is remarkable.  They were well taken care of. There is a little loss of tile grout in a couple of places but the tiles are secure and do not move.  I like leaving them as is.  The new owner can decide about adding in new grout.