Widdicomb Furniture Co
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Wood, Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Walnut, Leather
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Wood, Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Wood, Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood, Walnut, Leather
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood, Walnut, Fabric
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Travertine
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Maple, Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood, Fabric, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Wood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Maple, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Elm, Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Metal, Chrome
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Maple, Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Vintage 1970s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Organic Modern Console Tables
Wood, Burl
Vintage 1950s American Revival Dressers
Walnut
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Wood, Fabric, Upholstery
Early 20th Century Chippendale Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Nesting Tables and Stacking Tables
Wood
Vintage 1950s American Hollywood Regency Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Vintage 1960s American End Tables
Ash
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Mahogany
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Oak
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
20th Century American Neoclassical Sideboards
Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Scandinavian Modern Night Stands
Brass
Mid-20th Century Side Tables
Mahogany
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Wood
Vintage 1930s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Wool, Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Wood, Walnut, Paint
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Dressers
Aluminum
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Wood, Paint, Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Wood, Maple
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Brass
Vintage 1940s American Art Deco Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Metal, Bronze
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
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Widdicomb Furniture Co For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Widdicomb Furniture Co?
Widdicomb Furniture Co. for sale on 1stDibs
Admirers of vintage mid-century modern furnishings likely recognize the Widdicomb Furniture Company name for the fruitful partnerships it forged with iconic designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and Mario Buatta. But there is more to the Widdicomb story than the albeit quite covetable sofas and bedroom furniture it produced during the middle of the 20th century.
A wealth of pine and oak forests rendered Grand Rapids, Michigan, a logging center during the 1800s, and it eventually gained recognition for its furniture industry. The American city became a destination for furniture makers who hailed from across the United States and beyond. Furniture maker George Widdicomb emigrated from England to the United States in 1845, eventually setting up a cabinet shop in Syracuse, New York, before moving west to Grand Rapids. There, he opened a shop with his four sons, including John Widdicomb, whose name would help carry the family legacy into the 20th century.
The Widdicomb shop in Grand Rapids prospered, as the patriarch’s formal English training allowed him to produce pieces with superior craftsmanship compared to those of his competitors. Although the Civil War halted business and took the life of one of the Widdicomb brothers, the family’s survivors would start anew as Widdicomb Brothers and Richards, soon renamed the Widdicomb Furniture Company.
John Widdicomb, however, split from the family business in 1897 to create the John Widdicomb Company, where he would go on to focus on Louis XV- and French Provincial-style furnishings. Chairs made in these styles have distinct characteristics, such as floral motifs carved in the frames and gently angled backrests. John's company also remained a family affair: The founder’s son, Harry, assumed control of the company when his father died in 1910, while John's nephew Ralph Widdicombe — who retained the English spelling of his last name and joined the John Widdicomb Company at its start — designed every single piece of the offerings at his uncle's manufacturing outfit until he retired in 1951. Ralph was an internationally distinguished furniture designer whose modern mahogany bedroom suite won first prize at the Paris Exposition in 1900.
The original iteration of Widdicomb, which was helmed by John's older brother William while John ran his own brand, had shifted from making period revival styles of furniture, such as Georgian and Chippendale, to manufacturing modern pieces in the late 1920s. Today vintage Widdicomb seating, tables and other pieces produced during the postwar years are particularly sought after by collectors of mid-20th-century furniture.
In 1959, master woodworker George Nakashima created his Origins collection for Widdicomb when the firm merged with Mueller Furniture Corporation and was known, for around 10 years, as Widdicomb-Mueller. Origins, a revered Shaker-influenced group of nightstands, upholstered lounge chairs, dining-room tables and more, saw Nakashima working with woods like Carpathian elm and laurel in his Pennsylvania studio.
Eventually, the two Widdicomb companies would combine in 1970, operating under the name John Widdicomb Co.
In 2002, the business closed after more than a century of operations, and its assets were acquired by Stickley Furniture. Interestingly, it was not the first time Widdicomb and Stickley overlapped: In the final years of the 19th century, the companies opened a shared storehouse in London, while John Widdicomb and Albert Stickley would travel Europe together for the purposes of research.
Find vintage Widdicomb coffee tables, case pieces, dining chairs and more on 1stDibs.