Battista and Gino Giudici “Lido” lounge chair, Fratelli Giudici, Switzerland, design 1935

"Lido" deck chair by Battista and Gino Giudici, Fratelli Giudici, Switzerland. Galvanised tubular steel, two positions. Several available, fabric to order.


Specifications:



  • Designer: Battista and Gino Giudici

  • Manufacturer: Fratelli Giudici, Locarno

  • Country/Period: Switzerland; designed c. 1935, this edition 1980s–1990s


  • Materials: Galvanised tubular steel, red armrest sleeves, new water-repellent fabric

  • Conditions: Later edition from old warehouse stock; galvanised frame with evident patina and surface marks from storage and handling, no rust or damage; red armrest sleeves in good condition; new blue water-repellent fabric

  • Dimensions (H × W × D): 99 × 56 × 113.5 cm; seat height 40 cm

  • Literature: Arthur Rüegg, Swiss Furniture and Interiors in the 20th Century, pp. 130–131


  • Price: €1,400 with fabric; €1,330 without fabric

  • Shipping: Contact us for a quote


Battista and Gino Giudici were blacksmiths in Locarno, and the "Lido" carries the logic of their trade: a single run of bent tubular steel, galvanised against water and weather, shaped into a deck chair that needs nothing else to stand. Designed around 1935 for the passenger boats of the Ticino lakes and for outdoor use, it carries the language of Rationalism out of the modernist interior and onto terraces, decks and lidos.

The frame reads as one continuous drawing in space. A loop at the front forms the armrest and descends into the base, while the back folds into an open hexagon that carries the headrest. The fabric is slung between the two ends, and hooking its profile into one of two positions gives either an upright posture for reading or a reclined one for the sun. The red sleeves on the armrests are the only note of colour in the structure.


This example is a later edition, produced around the 1980s–90s and coming from old warehouse stock. The galvanised frame shows evident patina and surface marks, with no rust or damage, and the red armrest sleeves are in good condition. It comes with new water-repellent blue fabric.


Several examples are available, so orders for multiple pieces are possible. Further chairs can be fitted with the same blue fabric, or with the same water-repellent fabric in a range of sample colours (yellow, dark green, red). They can also be supplied without fabric, for the buyer to have upholstered to their own choice.