Edward Wormley for Dunbar Model 5665 Credenza
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 61.25 in (155.58 cm)Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1955
- Condition:Replacements made: The legs have been replaced. Wear consistent with age and use. Structurally excellent with original finish. Surface shows wear correct for age and use, including scratches and marks to top, edge and corner (inner drawers) wear, marks/glue residue to inside drawers, light scratches/nicks to case.
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU949529771182
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Brooklyn, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Fredrik Kayser Model 710 ArmchairBy Fredrik A. Kayser, Vatne MøblerLocated in Brooklyn, NYFor your consideration is this rare, out-of-production Model 710 armchair which is similar to Fredrik Keyser's more common Model 711, but features a more upright seating position. Th...Category
Vintage 1960s Norwegian Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Teak
- Paul Frankl Armchair for John StuartBy Johnson Furniture Company, Paul Frankl, John StuartLocated in Brooklyn, NYFor your consideration is this rare model 2254 ½ armchair designed by Paul Frankl in all-original, unrestored condition. It features a sculptural solid wood frame with delicate curve...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Allan Gould Coffee Table for Reilly-WolffBy Allan GouldLocated in Brooklyn, NYCircular coffee table with original inset white laminate top and square tube steel base with black painted finish. This is a rarely seen design by Allan Gould in the larger diameter ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- David Gil for Bennington Potters Extra Large VaseBy Bennington Potters, David GilLocated in Brooklyn, NYFor your consideration is this model #2017 vase by David Gil for Bennington Potters. The vase is a blocky rectangle from the front with a step...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Gilbert Rhode for Herman Miller EOG No. 17 Receptionist DeskBy Herman Miller, Gilbert RohdeLocated in Brooklyn, NYFor your consideration is this rare Gilbert Rohde EOG No. 17 Receptionist Desk manufactured by Herman Miller in the 1940s. The desk is in original, unrestored condition. It's compose...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsSteel
- George Nelson & Daniel Lewis for Koch Lowy "Eyeshade" Articulated Desk LampBy Koch & Lowy, George NelsonLocated in Brooklyn, NYFor your consideration is this uncommon 1970s "Eyeshade" articulated desk lamp designed by George Nelson and Daniel Lewis for Koch & Lowy. The shade can be raised up/down, rotate, and tilt up/down. It is composed of an outer perforated black metal screen, an inner aluminum shade, and green acrylic end detail that glows when the light is on, an apparent modern reference to the green glass shades of antique bankers lamps...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Steel
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar CredenzaBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Denton, TXClassic Edward Wormley for Dunbar mahogany credenza with solid brass hardware. Nine drawers with center cabinet.Category
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
- Modular Six-Piece Credenza by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILVery rare and unusual piece by Edward Wormley. This modular credenza in walnut can be put together in a host of different configurations. Detailed with l...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar CabinetBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Denton, TXTwo Edward Wormley cabinets with corrugated wood sliding doors and center drawer section in a grey brown finish Each cabinet is 20" deep by 49" wide by 31.25 high.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsMahogany
- Edward Wormley Sideboard Model 671 A for Dunbar Custom Order 1953By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Camden, MEAn Edward Wormley walnut and Japanese fir sideboard , model 671A for Dunbar, circa 1953. A rare exquisite Japanese inspired walnut cabinet with two drawers with cast bronze pulls and...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsWalnut, Paper
- Edward Wormley Credenza Model 5668A for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CAEdward Wormley design credenza model 5668A for Dunbar. Ebonized walnut case with newly caned front sliding doors and four drawers across the top. Comprising a fitted interior for mas...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsCane, Walnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mahogany Sliding Door Sideboard or Credenza CabinetBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Philadelphia, PAEdward Wormley for Dunbar mahogany sideboard. Item features clean Mid-Century Modern lines, brass accents at the base, two dovetail constructed upper drawers. four sliding cabinet do...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBrass