See more objects with the tag furniture, storage, television, modular, living room, domestic interior, stereo.

Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1946

  • Work on this object began.

2016

2025

  • You found it!

Model 4743 Stereo Cabinet Stereo Cabinet

This is a stereo cabinet. It was designed by George Nelson and George Nelson Associates and manufactured by Herman Miller Furniture Company. It is dated Designed 1946, manufactured ca. 1955. Its medium is oak, lacquer, glass, plastic, aluminum, linen. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

George Nelson was one of the most influential American designers of the twentieth century. He produced numerous industrial design objects, researched and wrote prodigiously, and served as design director at Herman Miller between 1946 and 1972, a particularly productive period for the company. In 1946, the same year Nelson began his tenure at Herman Miller, he designed this Model 4743 Stereo Cabinet, part of his Basic Cabinet Series, the concept for which grew out of the “Storagewall,” an idea developed by Nelson and fellow Architectural Forum associate editor Henry Wright in 1945 to provide ample and efficient storage for the post-War home.[1] The Basic Cabinet Series was conceived as a system of interchangeable, modular pieces meant to integrate into the architecture of the home for a built-in appearance; the modules came in a variety of wood or color-lacquer finishes with different suites of hardware, and were designed to serve as conventional shelving or room dividers, helping to create new perceptions of openness and space in domestic settings. This stereo cabinet, of combed oak construction, consists of a rectilinear volume set atop Nelson’s iconic slat bench, supported by three, dark wood openwork supports. The piece consists of one cabinet to house a television and another for a circular speaker; these bookend a pull-out turntable and drop-front tuner that are situated above a shelf for vinyl record storage. The Model 4743 exemplifies Nelson’s pragmatic approach to design that emphasizes human factors and functionality married to versatility and neutral, yet striking, mid-century modern forms.
[1] Kathryn Heisinger and George Marcus, Landmarks of Twentieth-Century Design: An Illustrated Handbook (New York: Abbeville Press, 1993), 160-161.

This object was donated by George R. Kravis II. It is credited Gift of George R. Kravis II.

  • HF 1 Television
  • molded plastic, glass.
  • Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor.
  • 1986-99-5
  •

Our curators have highlighted 3 objects that are related to this one.

Its dimensions are

H x W x D (a/c assembled): 97.2 × 234.3 × 49.5 cm (38 1/4 in. × 7 ft. 8 1/4 in. × 19 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Model 4743 Stereo Cabinet Stereo Cabinet; Designed by George Nelson ((American, 1908–1986)), George Nelson Associates (United States); Manufactured by Herman Miller Furniture Company (United States); oak, lacquer, glass, plastic, aluminum, linen; H x W x D (a/c assembled): 97.2 × 234.3 × 49.5 cm (38 1/4 in. × 7 ft. 8 1/4 in. × 19 1/2 in.); Gift of George R. Kravis II; 2018-22-59-a/c

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Energizing the Everyday: Gifts From the George R. Kravis II Collection.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/404734441/ |title=Model 4743 Stereo Cabinet Stereo Cabinet |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=11 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>