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Dillingham Esprit Dresser

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Merton Gershun for Dillingham Dresser & Mirror
By Merton Gershun
Located in Orange, CA
Esprit Walnut Low Boy Dresser & Mirror, designed by Merton Gershun for Dillingham. This beautiful
Category

Vintage 1960s Credenzas

Materials

Abalone, Mirror, Walnut

Dillingham Esprit Walnut Highboy Dresser With Built-in Mirror & Jewelry Box
By Dillingham Manufacturing Company
Located in Chattanooga, TN
ONLY ONE DRESSER available. Mid-Century Modern highboy dresser from Dillingham's esprit line. One
Category

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers

Materials

Walnut, Mirror

Merton L. Gershun for Dillingham "Esprit" Walnut Triple Dresser
By Merton Gershun, Dillingham Manufacturing Company
Located in Brooklyn, NY
(one small surface nick and one corner scuff). Branded "Dillingham Esprit" to the top drawer. Measures
Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers

Materials

Walnut

1960's Mid-Century Modern Dillingham Esprit 9 drawer lowboy
By Dillingham Manufacturing Company
Located in Chicago, IL
Merton Gershun for Dillingham's Esprit line. Walnut body and drawers with figured grain running
Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers

Materials

Walnut

1960's Mid-Century Modern Dillingham Esprit 9 drawer lowboy
By Dillingham Manufacturing Company
Located in Chicago, IL
Gershun for Dillingham's Esprit line. Walnut body and drawers with figured grain running continuously
Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers

Materials

Walnut

Mid-Century Modern Five-Drawer Walnut Tall Chest by Dillingham Esprit Collection
By Dillingham Manufacturing Company
Located in Toledo, OH
Merton L. Gershun for the Dillingham Esprit collection.
Category

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers

Mid-Century Modern Walnut 9-Drawer Lowboy Dresser Merton Gershun for Dillingham
By Dillingham Manufacturing Company
Located in Las Vegas, NV
9-drawer chest with plinth base designed by Merton Gershun for Dillingham as part of the “Esprit
Category

Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Dressers

Materials

Walnut

Dillingham Mid-Century Modern Walnut Dresser Credenza, circa 1970s
By Dillingham Manufacturing Company
Located in Chattanooga, TN
Mid-Century Modern Dillingham esprit dresser with eight spacious drawers. The bottom portion of the
Category

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas

Materials

Walnut

Handsome Dillingham Esprit Walnut Highboy Dresser and Matching Nightstands
By Dillingham Manufacturing Company
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Sleek Mid-Century modern walnut highboy dresser and matching pair of night stands, Dillingham
Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers

Materials

Walnut

Dillingham Esprit Walnut Tall Chest with Attached Mirror
By Dillingham Manufacturing Company
Located in Esperance, NY
Dillingham Esprit walnut tall chest with attached mirror Walnut tall chest with connected mirror
Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers

Materials

Walnut

Merton Gershun for Dillingham Esprit Mid Century Walnut 9 Drawer Lowboy Dresser
By Dillingham Manufacturing Company, Merton Gershun
Located in Countryside, IL
Merton Gershun for Dillingham Esprit mid century walnut 9 drawer lowboy dresser Dresser measures
Category

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers

Materials

Walnut

Dillingham Esprit Walnut Tall Chest with Attached Mirror
By Dillingham Manufacturing Company
Located in Chicago, IL
Walnut tall chest with connected mirror and built in "hidden" jewelry box by Dillingham. This
Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers

Materials

Walnut

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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

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

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 celebrated 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.

Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. 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.

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.