Mid-Century Modern Cleopatra Daybed by Dick Cordemeijer for Auping, 1960s

Dutch designer Dick Cordemeijer is best known for designing the famous Cleopatra Daybed (1953) for Auping. Limited verifiable information is available about him today—particularly because some biographical facts have become conflated with those of his contemporary A. R. Cordemeyer to whom Cordemeijer’s designs are often mistakenly attributed. One theory suggests that their biographical facts are conflated because Dick Cordemeijer changed his name to André Cordemeyer after working for Auping. 

It is believed that in 1952 Cordemeijer was hired as a technician by the mattress manufacturer Auping. Designing in the postwar boom era, Auping—which was originally founded in 1888 and known at the time for its innovative steel mattress production—began to collaborate with renowned Dutch designers, including Friso Kramer (b. 1922), Wim Rietveld (1924-1985), and Frans de la Hayes (b. 1943). In 1953, Cordemeijer designed the infamous Cleopatra Daybed, which Auping produced until 1982. Minimalist in design, the Cleopatra was inexpensive to produce. Featuring a wire mesh base and a coated metal frame with solid teak ends, the design became an instant classic and remains one of Auping’s most successful designs to date, having sold over a million models worldwide. Although he designed alongside many prolific designers and other luminaries, the Cleopatra was Cordemeijer’s one and only. In 2008, to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Auping, the company created a special anniversary edition of the Cleopatra.

In 1888, blacksmith Johannes Auping of Deventer, the Netherlands, was commissioned by a local hospital to construct a bed that was more hygienic than the straw mattresses in use at the time.  Working with steel, he designed a mattress that consisted of braided wires joined to a metal frame. Two years later, the Civil Hospital in Amsterdam commissioned the first major order of forty beds. After some adjustments to the original, Auping marketed the new design as a “healthy steel mattress”—with unprecedented capacity for ventilation due to airflow between the steel wires. The high demand for the newfangled mattress allowed Auping to open his eponymous factory in his hometown in 1912.

In the postwar boom era, the Auping company began to collaborate with renowned Dutch designers on an expanded product line. Highlights from this collectible phase of Auping’s history include Dick Cordemeijer’s Cleopatra Daybed (1953), Wim Rietveld’s Arielle Daybed (1955), Friso Kramer’s Euroika Tables (1963), and Frans de la Haye’s Auronde Bed (1973). The Auronde and Cleopatra remain Auping’s most successful designs to date, each having sold over a million models.  

Auping obtained the addition of “Royal” to their name for their 100th anniversary and are now known as Koninklijke Auping BV in Dutch. Today, the company is the largest independent manufacturer of beds in the Netherlands, with a reputation for high quality products, innovative designs, and lasting comfort. Recent designer collaborations include projects with Piet Hein Eek, Thomas Althaus, and Jan des Bouvrie. Auping’s product line—beds, box springs, mattresses, mesh bases, tables, and chairs—are solely manufactured in the Netherlands and have won various awards over the years, such as the Red Dot Award and Cradle to Cradle certification for utilizing of more than 50% recycled materials.