Edward Wormley For Dunbar Party
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1950s American Carts and Bar Carts
Brass
Antique 1650s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
Walnut, Pine
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Leather
Vintage 1950s Sofas
Leather
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Upholstery
Vintage 1950s Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Mahogany
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...
Aluminum, Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
Late 20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Art Deco Dry Bars
Brass
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Art Deco Carts and Bar Carts
Marble
Vintage 1970s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1970s European Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Mohair
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Textile, Wood
Vintage 1950s Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet
Vintage 1970s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1970s German Modern Sofas
Leather, Upholstery, Plastic, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Mahogany
Recent Sales
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Upholstery
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Walnut, Formica
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Upholstery
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Laminate, Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Wood, Mohair
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Wood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Upholstery
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Vintage 1950s Sofas
Vintage 1950s Club Chairs
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Wool, Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Vintage 1950s American Sofas
Leather, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
Wood, Upholstery
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1960s American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Mahogany, Glass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Upholstery
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Mohair
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet, Upholstery, Wood
Vintage 1950s Sofas
Fabric
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather, Upholstery
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric
Vintage 1960s American Hollywood Regency Sofas
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Mohair
20th Century Central American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Mohair
Vintage 1950s American Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1950s American Dry Bars
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Sofas
Wood, Velvet
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Muslin
Vintage 1960s American Sectional Sofas
Chrome
Edward Wormley for sale on 1stDibs
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.
Finding the Right seating for You
With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.
Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.
Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.
The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.
Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.
With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.
Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.
No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.