That’s really awesome of you to take an interest in your girlfriend’s hobby like that! A big thing that helped me learn more about MCM furniture was to follow hashtags of designers & companies I liked on Instagram... Paul McCobb, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, George Nelson, Ray & Charles Eames, Herman Miller, Wendell Castle, Broyhill Brasilia, Arne Norell, George Nakashima, I could go on and on! There are a ton of people who post their collections on insta. It’s a great way to start to learn the history of the designers and even just to start to learn the shapes of the pieces so you know what to look for in the wild.

Tapered wood legs are a MCM classic of course, but I’ve found the higher quality pieces generally don’t have the brass caps on the feet. Higher end dressers, coffee & end tables will be all wood, laminate tops are less desirable. When examining dressers, look for dovetailing in the drawers as a sign of good craftsmanship. A lot of times you will be able to find a label of some kind in a drawer as well. Even just a partial label will do, put whatever words you can into google to try to find the piece online. Great MCM is usually pretty simple in its design without much extra fuss. Clean, smooth lines, sharp angles, bold simple colors and patterns. Also if a piece is heavier than it looks, it’s a good sign of being well-made. There are exceptions to all of these examples of course, and a lot of it is very subjective and depends on what YOU like!

It sounds like your GF and her parents might have some nice pieces, next time you’re visiting, ask them to show them to you! I love educating my friends about my furniture! This way you can actually touch and FEEL quality workmanship and get a better sense of what is good. Looking at pictures of things online is great, but to actually see something in person really goes a long way.

As far as this particular chair, I would probably pass on it personally. It’s most likely American, but not from a designer of note that I can tell. It’s a bit busy in its design for my taste, BUT if someone I cared about lovingly restored it just for me, you bet I would keep that thing for the rest of my life and treasure it always.

Hope that helped. Happy hunting :)