Magic Box” folding desk Mummenthaler & Meier

• Retractable desk designed by Mummenthaler & Meier, Switzerland around 1950
• The furniture has been cleaned, sanded and reworked by our restorer.
• Very nice condition, rare marks of normal wear. The cabinet opens and closes perfectly.
• Dimensions closed: H 113 CM X W 83 CM X D 55 CM
• Dimensions open: W 168 CM X D 74 CM
• Shelf height from the ground 71 CM
• The shelf drawer is lockable (same key)

Magic Box drop-front desk by Mummenthaler & Meier

The Magic Box drop-front desk, designed by Mummenthaler & Meier, is part of the research carried out in Switzerland from the late 1920s on functional, transformable furniture. Designed to optimize space, this model features an ingenious system that conceals the workspace once closed.

Active architects in Basel between 1925 and 1974, Ernst Mummenthaler and Otto Meier developed a design approach in which use, rationality, and construction come first. Their work continues the thinking of figures such as Adolf Loos and Gottfried Semper, integrating furniture into an overall vision of modern living.

The Magic Box model perfectly illustrates this approach: a compact, structured piece in which every element serves a precise function. This type of drop-front desk, highly sought after today, reflects the evolution of furniture toward modular solutions suited to contemporary living spaces.

Presented in particular at WOBA (Swiss Housing Exhibition) in 1930, this piece belongs to a key moment in Swiss design, marked by standardization, formal clarity, and a particular focus on everyday use.