Heywood Wakefield Mid-Century Modern Chest of Drawers
View Similar Items
Heywood Wakefield Mid-Century Modern Chest of Drawers
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 43.5 in (110.49 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Age appropriate wear, some scuffs/scratches/gouges, vintage finish worn, some restoration recommended.
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: 8017-0836RJ1stDibs: U1211089218424
Heywood-Wakefield Co.
Created by the 19th-century merger of two venerable Massachusetts furniture makers, Heywood-Wakefield was one of the largest and most successful companies of its kind in the United States. In its early decades, the firm thrived by crafting affordable and hugely popular wicker pieces in traditional and historical styles. In the midst of the Great Depression, however, Heywood-Wakefield reinvented itself, creating instead the first modernist furnishings to be widely embraced in American households.
The Heywoods were five brothers from Gardner, Massachusetts, who in 1826 started a business making wooden chairs and tables in their family shed. As their company grew, they moved into the manufacture of furniture with steam-bent wood frames and cane or wicker seats, backs and sides. In 1897, they joined forces with a local rival, the Wakefield Rattan Company, whose founder, Cyrus Wakefield, got his start on the Boston docks buying up lots of discarded rattan, which was used as cushioning material in the holds of cargo ships, and transforming it into furnishings. The conglomerate initially did well with both early American style and woven pieces, but taste began to change at the turn of the 20th century and wicker furniture fell out of fashion. In 1930, the company brought in designer Gilbert Rohde, a champion of the Art Deco style. Before departing in 1932 to lead the Michigan furniture maker Herman Miller, Rohde created well-received sleek, bentwood chairs for Heywood-Wakefield and gave its colonial pieces a touch of Art Deco flair.
Committed to the new style, Heywood-Wakefield commissioned work from an assortment of like-minded designers, including Alfons Bach, W. Joseph Carr, Leo Jiranek and Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, a Russian nobleman who had made his name in Europe creating elegant automotive body designs.
In 1936, the company introduced its “Streamline Modern” group of furnishings, presenting a look that would define the company’s wares for another 30 years. The buoyantly bright, blond wood — maple initially, later birch — came in finishes such as amber “wheat” and pink-tinted “champagne.” The forms of the pieces, at once light and substantial, with softly contoured edges and little adornment beyond artful drawer pulls and knobs, were featured in lines with names such as “Sculptura,” “Crescendo” and “Coronet.” It was forward-looking, optimistic and built to last — a draw for middle-class buyers in the Baby Boom years.
By the 1960s, Heywood-Wakefield began to be seen as “your parents’ furniture.” The last of the Modern line came out in 1966; the company went bankrupt in 1981. The truly sturdy pieces have weathered the intervening years well, having found a new audience for their blithe and happy sophistication.
Find a collection of vintage Heywood-Wakefield desks, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Mid-Century Modern Walnut Chest of DrawersLocated in Brooklyn, NYGorgeous Mid-Century Modern vintage chest of drawers in a stunning walnut grain. Five pull-out drawers provide ample storage and organization, whether in the home or office. Unique m...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMetal, Steel
$1,330 Sale Price30% Off - Pair of Mid-Century Modern Walnut ChestsLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis beautiful pair of vintage modern chests have three drawers ensuring plenty of space of storage. Straight line design with hidden drawer pulls, a vintage walnut finish, and taper...Category
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWalnut
$1,750 Sale Price / set30% Off - Stylish Pair of Mid-Century Modern Bachelor ChestsLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis pair of American modern dressers each feature four wide drawers for ample bedroom storage. Unique white tops, circular drawer pulls and tapered brass sabot legs...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
$2,793 Sale Price / set26% Off - Danish Chest of DrawersLocated in Brooklyn, NYDanish made mid-century dresser with hidden drawer storage behind door. Warm teak grain and inset handles. Please confirm location.Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsTeak
$1,800 - Contemporary Modern Chrome and Faux Snakeskin Chest of DrawersLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis impressive contemporary modern chest of drawers features a heavy chrome frame with faux snakeskin finish. Fabric lined drawers, X style stretchers, and unique pulls make this sp...Category
Late 20th Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsChrome
$1,800 Sale Price36% Off - Pair of Mid-Century Modern DressersLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage modern chest of drawers with accenting wood sides and top. Chrome handles with black trims. (Please confirm item location - NY or NJ - with dealer).Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMahogany
$4,000 / set
- Mid-Century Modern Vintage Maple Tallboy Chest of Drawers Secretary MCMBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Dayton, OHMid-Century Modern tallboy dresser. Reminiscent of a secretary. Made from Maple with five dovetailed drawers and wooden handles. Attributed to Heywood Wakefield. Measure: 48".Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMaple
- Mid 20th Century Vintage Heywood Wakefield Chest Air Drawers - a PairBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in west palm beach, FLA fabulous pair of vintage MCM chests of drawers. Made by the iconic Heywood Wakefield group and tagged inside the drawer. A chic maple cabinet with a fabulous retro shape. Acquired ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMaple
- Mid-Century Modern Chest of Drawers Harvey ProbberBy Harvey ProbberLocated in New York, NYMid-Century Modern Harvey Probber Chest of drawers. Low chest of drawers by Harvey Probber in bleached mahogany with three drawers set on plinth base. Top two drawers have white lami...Category
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of D...
MaterialsMahogany
- Swedish Modern Mid-Century Chest of Drawers of BirchLocated in Atlanta, GAMid Century Modern Chest of Drawers made of Birch in Sweden. Chest of dawers has an espresso finish with chrome drawer pulls. There are three drawers with ample space. Perfectly scal...Category
Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsBirch
$1,319 Sale Price37% Off - Mid-Century Modern Gentleman's Chest with 3 DrawersLocated in Freehold, NJThis Mid-Century Modern gentleman's chest features hardwood construction, walnut veneer with original finish, two dovetailed drawers with carved wood pulls...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
- Mid Century Mirrored Chest of DrawersLocated in WEST PALM BEACH, FLA magnificent midcentury chest of drawers. A solid wood frame covered with mirror. Each sid2 of the chest has four short drawers separated by a reeded bar.Category
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMirror, Wood
