Michael Lax vintage Copco red enamel kettle. Enamelled cast-iron. 60s Modernist American/Finnish design enamelware teakettle, bent teak wood

A striking vivid red enamelled cast-iron Copco 'teakettle', designed by Michael Lax in 1962. Design no 117 I believe.

Stunning and simple Scandinavian Modernist design - designed in Finland by American Michael Lax. Classic design with a teak bent wood handle which can fold flat. Unknown era, but I'd image this example is 1970s to 1990s vintage. Made in Spain. Stamped to the base with "Micheal Lax Design Spain. Copco".

18.5cm diameter main body. 15cm tall with lid on and handle down. Holds around 4.5 pints - a huge capacity. Designed to be used on a hob for boiling water/making tea, although this is so nice I'd keep it for display! (Untested).

This example has hardly been used and is excellent for its age (enamel wears very easily and this only has a small patch of wear below the spout, a line on the spout join and the odd tiny dot of wear). Hardly any other signs of use/wear. Minimal marks internally. The teak would benefit from a re-oil, I've not touched it. Please study photos.

UK only. P&P included.


Taken from the New York Times Obituary in 1999:
"Mr. Lax was born on Nov. 8, 1929, in New York. In 1954 Mr. Lax won a Fulbright Fellowship to Finland, where he immersed himself in the Scandinavian sensibility just as it was emerging as the most influential esthetic of the times for industrial design. Russel Wright, the American pioneer of modern product design, hired him in 1956 to work on a series of dinnerware designs. After working for Wright he pursued freelance work until 1960, when he started working on his famous line of enameled cast-iron cookware for Copco, including the 1962 teakettle with its bent teakwood handle, his most instantly recognizable design. He continued to contribute designs to Copco through the 1980's. Mr. Lax's red, blue and yellow cast-iron cookware for Copco was truly remarkable and innovative in the sense that he brought an international, slightly Scandinavian flair to American products. He introduced enamel to cast iron and was truly responsible for helping to shape the shape of the 60's. Mr. Lax also designed household products for Dansk, Rosenthal, Salton, Dunbar Glass, and, most recently, Metaal, for which he created sculptured aluminum bowls."