Paul Mccobb Three Drawer Dresser
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Steel, Iron
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Birch
Vintage 1950s Central American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Maple
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Marble
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Maple, Lacquer
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Steel
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Metal
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s Dressers
Brass, Nickel
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Maple
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Chrome
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Linen, Walnut
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Oak, Plywood
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Fabric, Plastic
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Mahogany
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Cane, Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Wood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Late 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dressers
Wood, Lacquer
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Laminate, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Rosewood, Mahogany
Recent Sales
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Metal
Vintage 1950s American Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
20th Century American Dressers
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Steel, Iron
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Metal
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Maple
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Steel
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Birch
Vintage 1950s American Dressers
Aluminum
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Maple
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Sideboards
Walnut, Birch, Linen
Vintage 1950s American Cabinets
Walnut, Linen, Birch
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Maple
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Birch
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Maple
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass, Iron
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Birch, Maple
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Maple, Lacquer
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Wood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s American Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Aluminum, Iron
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Iron
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Birch
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood, Birch, Maple
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Dr...
Birch
Paul Mccobb Three Drawer Dresser For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Paul Mccobb Three Drawer Dresser?
Paul McCobb for sale on 1stDibs
The single aesthetic attribute of vintage Paul McCobb furniture is that the designer completely forsook ornament — his pieces have no flourishes. And yet, because they are honest — McCobb’s chairs, desks and dining tables are made of solid wood, usually maple or birch, often paired with frames and legs of wrought iron; the cabinets are traditionally scaled; the seating pieces have historic antecedents such as the Windsor chair — his mid-century modern work has warmth and presence.
You could call the Massachusetts-born McCobb a man of parts. As a furniture designer, his work combined the attributes of many of his now better-known peers.
Like the work of Bauhaus designers such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, McCobb's furniture had purity of form and line. Like the designs of Florence Knoll and George Nelson and his associates, McCobb’s work was efficient and purposeful. And even like George Nakashima, he was adept at interpreting traditional forms, in particular those of chairs, for the 20th century.
More than any other designer besides Russel Wright, with his ubiquitous ceramic tableware, McCobb was arguably responsible for the introduction of modern design into middle-class American households — if for no other reason than that he designed the 1952 set for the original Today show.
McCobb, a repeat recipient of the Good Design Award from the Museum of Modern Art, also designed cohesive lines of furnishings, such as his best-known Planner Group, that gave homes an instant “look.” He designed for several companies, most notably Directional, which was home to McCobb’s Origami chair.
In 1949, in partnership with New York furniture salesman B.G. Mesberg, McCobb set up the Directional Furniture Company, a brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere. Directional opened its doors after McCobb created the high-end Directional Modern line of sofas distributed by the New York-based Modernage Company. Directional also produced designs by other legends such as Paul Evans and Vladimir Kagan.
As you can see from the offerings on 1stDibs, McCobb designs are the pin-striped suit, or the little black dress, of a decor: an essential.
Find vintage Paul McCobb credenzas, bookcases, nightstands and other furniture on 1stDibs.
A Close Look at Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.
Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Finding the Right dressers for You
Antique, new and vintage dressers are a staple in any household. Whether it’s a 19th-century solid pine or oak Welsh kitchen dresser you’re using to store tableware or a Broyhill Brasilia highboy in your bedroom, these furniture fixtures are essential for making the most of your space.
The first step in finding the perfect dresser is considering your particular needs. Most tall dressers offer anywhere from five to seven drawers, essentially allowing for the organization of an entire wardrobe, while shorter, waist-height dresser varieties can be equipped with a convenient vanity mirror.
A highboy dresser is usually around six feet tall, with some versions standing even taller at seven feet or so. Highboys, which began to appear with frequency during the early 17th century in England, are essentially very tall dressers with lots of drawers, whereas a lowboy is a different type of storage furniture in that it's a dressing table with one or two rows of drawers.
When shopping for your antique or vintage dresser, consider those that bear the hallmarks of solid construction. Good furniture means making an investment, and solid hardwood pieces of maple, walnut or cherry will prove far more durable than a bedroom dresser made of particleboard.
If you’re looking for a mid-century modern case piece that boasts a subdued pairing of wood grains and uncomplicated drawer pulls, browse elegant dressers designed by Florence Knoll, Harvey Probber, Paul McCobb and other furniture makers associated with the celebrated style on 1stDibs.
Dressers characterized by bolder designs are also popular: Not only will your new piece of furniture be a storage solution, but it'll also make a statement.
Art Deco furniture makers preferred to work with dark woods and typically incorporated decorative embellishments. An ornately carved French or Italian Art Deco dresser complete with vanity mirror and cabriole scrolled feet might better complement the other pieces in your home. Alternatively, if you favor sumptuous antique furniture with curving lines and floral flourishes, the collection on 1stDibs also includes sophisticated 1800s-era Victorian walnut dressers and washstands with marble tops.
After all, a good case piece isn’t merely for minimizing clutter in your space. The style of your chosen dresser and its specific attributes should add something to your decor and your home. Modern creations include one-of-a-kind shapes, like the venturesome chests of drawers in leather, marble and wood crafted by the likes of Roberto Cavalli.
Explore a broad array of antique and vintage dressers today on 1stDibs.