 While the form is generally credited to Parsons School of Design in New York City, according to an article in "The New York Times" that referred to archives at Parsons School, the table was developed out of a course taught at Parsons Paris by the French designer Jean-Michel Frank in the 1930s.As the article states, "Frank challenged students to design a table so basic that it would retain its integrity whether sheathed in gold leaf, mica, parchment, split straw or painted burlap, or even left robustly unvarnished.What grew out of Frank's sketches and the students' participation was initially called the T-square table ... " The first example, as recalled by Parsons instructor Stanley Barrows, was constructed by the school's janitor and displayed at a student show.