By the 1970s, a small circle of French designers working for editors like Kappa had begun applying industrial materials to objects that had, until then, been treated as an afterthought — the card tray, the letter holder, the small thing on the corner of a desk. François Monnet was among them, known for taking a single sheet of stainless steel and folding it into forms with more sculpture in them than their function strictly required.
This card holder follows that approach exactly: a single fold of stainless steel that opens on a simple hinge to reveal a ridged interior tray. Note how the fold itself does all the structural work — there is no separate hinge mechanism, no added bracket, just the steel bent back on itself at precisely the right point to swing open and shut on its own memory, the kind of economy of means that defines Monnet's best small objects. The interior carries the maker's stamp of Carnaud Passe-Lindet, the metalworking firm understood to have executed Monnet's designs for Kappa in steel. The surface carries a warm, even patina consistent with age.
Whoever kept this on their desk kept it well. Wear is light and honest — faint surface scratching and minor oxidation consistent with decades of handling — with the hinge and folding action still sound. It is ready for a desk, a console, or an entryway table.
It arrives professionally packed and fully insured — we handle the paperwork and worldwide shipping. Returns are accepted within 30 days.
DETAILS:
Length: 16 cm (6.3 in) · Width: 8.5 cm (3.3 in) · Depth: 4 cm (1.6 in) — roughly the size of a deck of playing cards
Materials: stainless steel
Maker's mark: Carnaud Passe-Lindet, visible to the interior
Condition: very good vintage condition; light surface wear and minor oxidation consistent with age; hinge and folding action sound
