So now that I’ve figured out the mystery of the Aalto tables I spent some time this afternoon going back and digging in as many old pictures of Fondren as I could find. The interior of this building really was quite handsome. And once you know what you’re looking for it’s easy to find it. Here’s a beauty, dated 1950:

What gave me a little laugh, though, was this. Up on the higher floors things weren’t quite so modern. They reused the old furniture from Lovett Hall! This picture is also dated 1950:

And here’s a picture of the Boy’s Study Lounge in 1912– you can see the same chairs:

They’re also in this image of the library space in the Administration Building circa 1930:

I walked the whole library this afternoon and while I saw a lot of furniture that spanned the ages, I did not see one of these. Pity.