Selig Walnut Guitar Pick

As an importer and producer, the Selig furniture company helped popularize timeless and elegant postwar designs in the United States.

Selig created Danish-inspired chairs, sofas and other furnishings for the home that were cutting-edge, contemporary and airy. The brand was also among the first to introduce Scandinavian and European modern styles to Americans in the 1950s and 60s. The company imported and manufactured furniture known for its extraordinary design and style using high-quality, enduring and seductive materials.

Selig was founded in 1931 by Mandell Selig and Samuel Wexler. The pair started the business during the challenging economic times of the Great Depression prior to World War II. By the 1960s, under the leadership of Wexler's son, Robert, Selig peaked with manufacturing factories in five American cities.

Selig’s importing business had a meaningful impact on Italian furniture manufacturers. Wexler, the junior, had a hand in advancing and growing the manufacturing sector of the country’s Udine region. Due to this contribution, the Italian government saw fit to knight Robert Wexler with the title of “Cavaliere.”

After nearly four decades of influencing seating and lounging preferences in the United States with sophisticated mid-century modern and Scandinavian modern furniture — including its own chrome rocking chairs and leather club chairs — Selig sold to Simmons, the mattress company, in 1970, thus dissolving. Much of what they produced and imported is still available despite no longer being manufactured, and many collectors seek original Selig furniture.

On 1stDibs, find an array of vintage Selig furniture that includes lounge chairs, armchairs, tables and more.

The right vintage, new or antique tables can help make any space in your home stand out.

Over the years, the variety of tables available to us, as well as our specific needs for said tables, has broadened. Today, with all manner of these must-have furnishings differing in shape, material and style, any dining room table can shine just as brightly as the guests who gather around it.

Remember, when shopping for a dining table, it must fit your dining area, and you need to account for space around the table too — think outside the box, as an oval dining table may work for tighter spaces. Alternatively, if you’ve got the room, a Regency-style dining table can elevate any formal occasion at mealtime.

Innovative furniture makers and designers have also redefined what a table can be. Whether it’s an unconventional Ping-Pong table, a brass side table to display your treasured collectibles or a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk to add an air of nostalgia to your loft, your table can say a lot about you.

The visionary work of French designer Xavier Lavergne, for example, includes tables that draw on the forms of celestial bodies as often as they do aquatic creatures or fossils. Elsewhere, Italian architect Gae Aulenti, who looked to Roman architecture in crafting her stately Jumbo coffee table, created clever glass-topped mobile coffee tables that move on bicycle tires or sculpted wood wheels for Fontana Arte. 

Coffee and cocktail tables can serve as a room’s centerpiece with attention-grabbing details and colors. Glass varieties will keep your hardwood flooring and dazzling area rugs on display, while a marble or stone coffee table in a modern interior can showcase your prized art books and decorative objects. A unique vintage desk or writing table can bring sophistication and even a bit of spice to your work life. 

No matter your desired form or function, a quality table for your living space is a sound investment. On 1stDibs, browse a collection of vintage, new and antique bedside tables, mid-century end tables and more .