Mid-Century Modern Kneehole Leather-Top Desk by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
View Similar Items
Mid-Century Modern Kneehole Leather-Top Desk by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
About the Item
- Creator:Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer),Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.75 in (75.57 cm)Width: 44.75 in (113.67 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Early 1950s
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor chips/wear to legs and inside edge of kneehole (see photos). Wear consistent with age and use to leather top. (2) inch-long inscriptions of "Ellyn" to leather top (see photos).
- Seller Location:Lafayette, IN
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2680324854502
Edward Wormley
As the longtime director of design for the Dunbar furniture company, Edward Wormley was, along with such peers as George Nelson at Herman Miller Inc., and Florence Knoll of Knoll Inc., one of the leading forces in bringing modern design into American homes in the mid-20th century. Not an axiomatic modernist, Wormley deeply appreciated traditional design, and consequently his vintage seating, storage cabinets, bar carts and other work has an understated warmth and a timeless quality that sets it apart from other furnishings of the era.
Wormley was born in rural Illinois and as a teenager took correspondence courses from the New York School of Interior Design. He later attended the Art Institute of Chicago but ran out of money for tuition before he could graduate. Marshall Field hired Wormley in 1930 to design a line of reproduction 18th-century English furniture; the following year he was hired by the Indiana-based Dunbar, where he quickly distinguished himself. It was a good match.
Dunbar was an unusual firm: it did not use automated production systems; its pieces were mostly hand-constructed. For his part, Wormley did not use metal as a major component of furniture; he liked craft elements such as caned seatbacks, tambour drawers, or the woven-wood cabinet fronts seen on his Model 5666 sideboard of 1956. He designed two lines for Dunbar each year — one traditional, one modern — until 1944, by which time the contemporary pieces had become the clear best sellers.
Many of Wormley’s signature pieces — chairs, sofas, tables and more — are modern interpretations of traditional forms. His 1946 Riemerschmid Chair — an example is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art — recapitulates a late 19th-century German design. The long, slender finials of his Model 5580 dining chairs are based on those of Louis XVI chairs; his Listen-to-Me Chaise (1948) has a gentle Rococo curve; the “Precedent” line that Wormley designed for Drexel Furniture in 1947 is a simplified, pared-down take on muscular Georgian furniture. But he could invent new forms, as his Magazine table of 1953, with its bent wood pockets, and his tiered Magazine Tree (1947), both show. And Wormley kept his eye on design currents, creating a series of tables with tops that incorporate tiles and roundels by the great modern ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler.
As the vintage items on 1stDibs demonstrate, Edward Wormley conceived of a subdued sort of modernism, designing furniture that fits into any decorating scheme and does not shout for attention.
Dunbar Furniture
Revered for its handcrafted and highly collectible mid-century modern sofas, coffee tables and other furnishings, Dunbar Furniture was founded in 1910 in Berne, Indiana, but it didn’t gain widespread recognition until the ’30s, following the introduction of its president to a designer who would leave an indelible mark on the company’s legacy: Edward Wormley.
After a stint at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Oswego, Illinois-born Wormley worked as an interior designer for Marshall Field’s before joining Dunbar in 1931. Initially focused on developing the company’s cheapest furniture line, which could be bought with soap coupons, he was soon leading Dunbar Furniture into a new era of residential furniture for modern American homes. He would serve as the company’s design director for over three decades, designing about 150 pieces each year.
During that time, he oversaw the production of designs in a wide range of materials, with influences ranging from Scandinavian modernism to Art Deco. There were modern upholstery pieces, like swiveling lounge chairs and low-slung sofas, and experiments with textural wood on bar carts and cabinets as well as minimal, sculptural tables and functional office furniture. A passionate collector of Tiffany Studios lamps, Wormley used their glass tiles in Dunbar tables in 1956. He also worked on the reproduction of pieces by designers such as Jean-Michel Frank and Richard Riemerschmid.
One standout Dunbar Furniture collection was Janus, introduced in the 1960s, with Austrian-born ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler. These pieces see the Natzlers’ uniquely artful ceramic tiles set into several styles of wooden tables. They remain some of the most sought-after mid-century modern Dunbar pieces on the vintage market today. During the peak of his design career and, indeed, the height of Dunbar Furniture’s history, Wormley amassed a whopping 30 Good Design awards between 1950 and 1955 through the “Good Design” exhibition, hosted by the Chicago Merchandise Mart and the Museum of Modern Art. Dunbar today produces a limited selection of archival Wormley designs, but many sales of original Dunbar pieces are through the resale market.
Find a collection of authentic vintage Dunbar Furniture today on 1stDibs.
- Vintage 7ft 1970s Mid-Century Modern Rosewood & Oak Executive Desk by DunbarBy Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Lafayette, INThis beautifully-made executive desk features a design reminiscent of Roger Sprunger and the unparalleled build-quality for which Dunbar is renowned. The clean, Minimalist lines are...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsOak, Rosewood
$2,475 Sale Price44% Off - Mid-Century Modern Herman Miller Roll Top Action Office Desk by George NelsonBy George Nelson, Herman MillerLocated in Lafayette, INThis is a wonderful early example of the Action Office Roll Top desk by George Nelson for Herman Miller. Desk features: Walnut roll top (4) action drawers Ebonized black side pane...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsAluminum, Chrome
$5,199 Sale Price20% Off - Rare 1950s Mid-Century Modern Art Deco Inspired Walnut Rounded Top DeskLocated in Lafayette, INStunning 1950s desk by the Shelbyville Desk Company of Indiana. Desk features a 66" rounded-end top, walnut veneer and wonderful Art Deco hardware. T...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWalnut
$1,749 Sale Price41% Off - Rare Mid-Century Modern Walnut Push-Button Executive Desk by SLS EnvironeticsBy Lehigh LeopoldLocated in Lafayette, INThis ultra-rare and ultra-cool desk features a black steel frame, walnut veneer cabinet and brushed-aluminum legs with rosewood inlay. The contrasting woods, aluminum accents and minimalist, mid-century lines, make this desk is the epitome of 70's chic! However, what makes this desk truly remarkable is its parlor trick... Cable-actuated, spring-loaded drawers that open at the touch of a button! (see video) This unique desk was custom-designed by SLS Environetics and produced by Leopold/Litton Industries for use in offices at the Sears Tower...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsSteel, Aluminum
$3,499 Sale Price63% Off - Vintage 1949 Mid-Century Modern Custom L-Shaped Office Desk by George NelsonBy George Nelson, Herman MillerLocated in Lafayette, INThis remarkable piece is a one-off desk/wardrobe/bar/bookcase/storage cabinet custom-designed by George Nelson in 1949 to match his Basic Cabinet Series (BCS) for Herman Miller. The desk was made specifically for a client in the Promontory Apartment Building in Chicago designed by Nelson's associate, and world-renowned architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The entire apartment was outfitted in pieces from George Nelson's Basic Cabinet Series for Herman Miller that sat, untouched for nearly 70 years in their original setting! In addition to two aluminium sconces, this piece also features hidden, fluorescent lighting mounted in the upper canopy as a clever solution to Mies van der Rohe's lack of ceiling fixtures. This is a gorgeous, grandiose, and extremely rare piece of design history that will instantly outfit an entire office in striking style! Features: Desk: - Book-matched walnut veneer - Built-in Bar - Built in coat closet/wardrobe - Dual aluminum sconces - Hidden, indirect fluorescent lighting - Silver-plated Herman Miller hardware - Dual "floating" book shelves - Tapered, cantilevered peninsula desk...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsAluminum
$14,000 Sale Price60% Off - Mid-Century Modern Asian-Influenced Pagoda Desk by The Northern Furniture Co.By RWAYLocated in Lafayette, INRare pagoda writing desk by The Northern Furniture Company /Rway. Desk features a floating, pagoda-inspired top, unique Bakelite/silver drawer pulls...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsSilver
$1,200 Sale Price69% Off
- Partners Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXA mahogany partners desk with original leather top and base and brass hardware. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Desks
MaterialsMahogany
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Walnut and Rosewood Executive DeskBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Walnut and Rosewood Executive Desk This desk measures: 84 wide x 40 deep x 29 high, with a chair clearance of 25 inches All pieces of furnitur...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsRosewood, Walnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Desk and ReturnBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in St. Louis, MO1960s Edward Wormley desk and ensuite return, label, currently being refinished, desk. Measures: 72 W x 36.5 D x 29 H. Return 60 W x 30.5 D x 29 H.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWood
$5,800 / set - Rosewood Roll Top Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA rosewood tambour roll top desk with brass feet and leather trim. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Desks
- Edward J Wormley for Dunbar Wooden Wedge Top Pedestal DeskBy Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYAmerican mid-century wooden pedestal desk with four drawers with wooden drawer pulls, a shelf on the right-hand side below the tabletop, and a cabinet to the left with an extendable writing surface concealed within. (EDWARD J WORMLEY FOR DUNBAR...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWood
- Rosewood and Mahogany Roll-Top Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dorchester, MADesigned in 1957 by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, this handsome mahogany desk features a generous writing surface bookended by two rosewood roll-top doors. Three shallow drawers are tucked below, the center one with small divisions at front. A hinged panel...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsBrass