Drexel Heritage Furniture Ivory Lacquered Eight Drawer Dresser
View Similar Items
Drexel Heritage Furniture Ivory Lacquered Eight Drawer Dresser
About the Item
- Creator:Drexel (Manufacturer),Heritage Furniture (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 39 in (99.06 cm)Width: 70.5 in (179.07 cm)Depth: 21 in (53.34 cm)
- Style:Post-Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:Wood,Lacquered
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2010s
- Condition:Refinished. Professionally refinished. Excellent condition.
- Seller Location:Morgan, UT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6728228598772
Drexel
While vintage Drexel Furniture dining tables, dressers and other pieces remain highly desirable for enthusiasts of mid-century modern design, the manufacturer's story actually begins decades before its celebrated postwar-era Declaration line took shape.
In 1903, in the small town of Drexel in the foothills of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, six partners came together to found a company that would become one of the country’s leading furniture producers. The first offerings from Drexel Furniture were simple: a bed, washstand and bureau all crafted from native oakwood, sold as a bedroom suite for $14.50.
One of Drexel’s early innovations was to employ staff designers, something the company initiated in the 1930s. This focus on design, which few other furniture companies were committing to at the time, allowed Drexel to respond to a variety of new and traditional tastes. This included making pieces inspired by historic European furniture, like the popular French Provincial–style Touraine bedroom and dining group that borrowed its curves from Louis XV-era furniture. Others replicated the ornate details of 18th-century chinoiserie or the embellishments of Queen Anne furniture. Always ready to adapt to new customer demands, during World War II, Drexel built a sturdy desk designed especially for General Douglas MacArthur.
In the postwar era, Drexel embraced the clean lines of mid-century modernism with the Declaration collection designed by Stewart MacDougall and Kipp Stewart that featured elegant credenzas and more made in walnut, and the Profile and Projection collections designed with sculptural shapes by John Van Koert. In the 1970s, Drexel introduced high-end furniture in a Mediterranean style.
Drexel changed hands and visions throughout the years. It was managed by one of the original partners — Samuel Huffman — until 1935, at which time his son Robert O. Huffman took over as president. It was then that the company began to expand, with several acquisitions of competitors in the 1950s, including Table Rock Furniture, the Heritage Furniture Co. and more. With the manufacturer’s success — spurred by its embrace of advertising in home and garden magazines — it opened more factories in both North and South Carolina. By 1957, the company that had started with a factory of 50 workers had 2,300 employees and was selling its furniture nationwide.
Drexel underwent a series of name changes in its long history. Its acquisition of Southern Desk Company in 1960 bolstered its production of institutional furniture for dormitories, classrooms, churches and laboratories. In the following decades, contracts with government agencies, hotels, schools and hospitals brought its high-quality furniture to a global audience. U.S. Plywood-Champion Papers bought Drexel Enterprises in 1968, and it became Drexel Heritage Furnishings.
In 2014, the last Drexel Heritage plant, in Morganton, North Carolina, reportedly closed its doors. The company rebranded as Drexel in 2017.
The range of vintage Drexel furniture for sale on 1stDibs includes end tables designed by Edward Wormley, walnut side tables designed by Kipp Stewart and lots more.
- Drexel Heritage Georgian Mahogany Chest on Chest Highboy DresserBy DrexelLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous Georgian or Chippendale style eight-drawer chest on chest highboy dresser By Drexel Heritage USA, Circa 1980s Mahogany, with...Category
Late 20th Century American Georgian Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- Drexel Heritage Hollywood Regency Campaign Black Lacquered Twelve-Drawer DresserBy DrexelLocated in South Bend, INAn exceptional mid-century modern Hollywood Regency Campaign style twelve-drawer dresser or credenza By Drexel Heritage USA, 1970s Black lacquered walnut, with original brass hard...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- Baker Furniture Georgian Carved Mahogany Eight-Drawer Highboy DresserBy Baker Furniture CompanyLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous Georgian or Chippendale style eight-drawer highboy dresser or chest of drawers By Baker Furniture USA, circa 1980s Carved mahogany, with original brass hardware. ...Category
Late 20th Century American Georgian Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- Light Walnut Hammered Brass Pulls 5 Drawer Chest of Drawers Dresser MintBy Drexel, Heritage FurnitureLocated in Rockaway, NJLight American walnut hammered brass pulls 5 drawer chest of drawers dresser mint.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- 1970s Drexel Heritage Chinoiserie Armoire DresserBy DrexelLocated in Chicago, ILAn exceptional Hollywood Regency Chinoiserie Campaign style armoire dresser from the Dynasty Collection by Drexel Heritage. The dresser features gorge...Category
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie Dressers
MaterialsWood
- Drexel Heritage Consensus Mid Century Pecan and Brass 9 Drawer Lowboy DresserBy DrexelLocated in Countryside, ILDrexel heritage consensus mid century pecan and brass 9 drawer lowboy dresser. Dresser measures: 72 wide x 18.75 deep x 30.5 inches high.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass