Fritz Nagel, son of the furniture manufacturer A. Nagel, studied archirecture from 1903 to 1906, some times at the same time as Mauritius Herrgesell (see catalogue number 50.), under Josef Hoffmann at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. The two of them were repeatedly found themselves in competition for prizes awarded by the magazine Innendekoration [Interior Decoration].
He designed this piece of furniture as part of the furnishings for a gentleman’s study. Of this ensemble, the large desk and a bookcase are known. All of them are structured on the same principle – contoured vertical rectangles. The piece was made in his father’s workshop.