Edward Wormley for Dunbar Travertine Sheath of Wheat End Table
View Similar Items
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Travertine Sheath of Wheat End Table
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 15.5 in (39.37 cm)Diameter: 21 in (53.34 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:North Miami, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU809731547492
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.
- 1950's Lounge Chair and Ottoman by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in North Miami, FLPair of 1950s armchairs and ottomans designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar have painted walnut legs with all new foam and upholstery. Priced individually as two chair-and-ottoman sets.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Pair of Brass and Capiz Shell Side TablesLocated in North Miami, FLAs elegant in a town house as a beach side cottage. Professionally restored pair of side tables have brushed, solid brass frames with inlaid tops of pearlescent, creamy white capiz s...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsBrass
$3,500 / set - Pair of 1950s Driftwood Table LampsLocated in North Miami, FLPair of vintage 1950s table lamps in natural driftwood have the well-worn patina only age can give. Measurements below are for the larger lamp.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsDriftwood
$1,600 / set - Restored Pair of 1950s Margherita Chairs by Franco Albini for Vittorio BonacinaBy Franco Albini, Vittorio BonacinaLocated in North Miami, FLProfessionally restored pair of 1950s bamboo and rattan Margherita chairs, designed by Franco Albini for Vittorio Bonacina, in their original vintage cream painted finish with new bo...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBamboo, Rattan
- Set of 12 Custom Commissioned Plates by Piero Fornasetti for Fleming Joffe LtdBy FornasettiLocated in North Miami, FLA rare collection of 12 custom commissioned plates made by Piero Fornasetti for New York small leather goods company, Fleming Joffe Ltd. in the 196...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Pair of Mid-Century Gerald Thurston Black Ceramic Table LampsBy Gerald ThurstonLocated in North Miami, FLPair of sculptural table lamps in black matte ceramic by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier. The lamps each have three light sources and pull chain. Very tall and elegant!Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Sheaf of Wheat Side Table, 1950sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Rockaway, NJSheaf of wheat side table designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar very good vintage original condition.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsGlass, Walnut
- Pair of Edward Wormley Dunbar Sheaf of Wheat End Tables black CarraraBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in BROOKLYN, NYPair of Dunbar Sheaf of Wheat End Tables with 3/4" thick Italian Carrara white/gray Marble with edge detail on black lacquered oak base that h...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Brass
$3,400 Sale Price / set20% Off - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Walnut End TableBy Edward WormleyLocated in Kalamazoo, MIWalnut side table designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Brass capped feet, lower shelf and interesting overhanging top on one edge. Good vintage condition.Category
Mid-20th Century End Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Travertine and Dark Wood Wedge End / Side TableBy Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYAmerican Mid-Century end / side table with a wedge-shaped beige travertine top resting on a dark wooden base with connecting stretchers and four dowel legs ending in black leather wr...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsTravertine
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Travertine and Light Wood Wedge End / Side TableBy Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYAmerican Mid-Century end / side table with a wedge-shaped beige travertine top resting on a light wood base with connecting stretchers and four dowel legs ending in beige leather wra...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsTravertine
- Early Edward Wormley for Dunbar Step End TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Los Angeles, CAThree-tiered step up side table designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, circa 1950. This table is in wonderful condition and can be used as an end ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsWalnut