Rare Edward Wormley for Dunbar Adjustable Reclining Queen Headboard
View Similar Items
Rare Edward Wormley for Dunbar Adjustable Reclining Queen Headboard
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 38.25 in (97.16 cm)Width: 62.88 in (159.72 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. very good.
- Seller Location:Phoenix, AZ
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU85322459572
Edward Wormley
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.
- John Mascheroni Rare 1970's Sculptural Floor LampBy John MascheroniLocated in Phoenix, AZSeldom seen sculpted aluminum floor lamp by John Mascheroni, circa early 1970s.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsAluminum
- Eliel Saarinen for Johnson 1940s Chests of DrawersBy Eliel Saarinen, Johnson Furniture CompanyLocated in Phoenix, AZEliel Saarinen for Johnson Furniture Company chests of drawers circa 1948. These seldom seen examples have sculptural S-shaped legs, formed aluminum handles and beautifully grained b...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsAluminum
$5,800 / item - Mahogany Side Table by Paul McCobb for DirectionalBy Paul McCobbLocated in Phoenix, AZPaul McCobb for Directional side table circa early 1950s. Newly finished, the juxtapostion of mahogany brass and glass is striking.Category
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
$2,600 / item - Eames for Herman Miller Time Life Walnut StoolBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Phoenix, AZCharles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller time life stool, circa mid-1960s. This solid walnut example has incredible graining and has been newly detai...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsWalnut
- Globe Chair for Artifort by Pierre Paulin, 1960sBy Pierre PaulinLocated in Phoenix, AZA memorable early swivel 'Globe' chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort newly upholstered in pink Knoll Cato fabric.Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsIron
- Lounge Chairs & Ottoman by Hans J. Wegner for GETAMA in BoucléBy Hans J. Wegner, GETAMALocated in Phoenix, AZTwo Hans J. Wegner for GETAMA wide arm lounge chairs & ottomans in white Turkish bouclé with soft leather accents on the head cushion. Official s...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Bouclé, Oak
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mahogany Adjustable HeadboardBy Edward WormleyLocated in Pasadena, TXWormley has pioneered in a broad field of design, he was one of those unique designers who was sensitive to the interplay involved in selling modernism and still preserving the nostalgic touch of intimacy, warmth and detail. His first Dunbar chairs, produced in 1932, were reproductions of antique designs, but when they became popular Wormley augmented the set with new pieces to form a full line of furniture for almost every room in the house. Rare Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mahogany Adjustable Headboard...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMahogany
$10,000 Sale Price20% Off - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Queen Size Wooden Storage HeadboardBy Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYAmerican Mid-Century wooden queen size storage headboard with two vertical drawers on either side with bentwood handles that open to reveal a lower open compartment and an upper compartment with a pivoting hinged...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsWood
- Headboard by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn innovative and elegant king size headboard in darkened mahogany having channeled upholstery, adjustable back rests and two pairs of drop-down arms.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMahogany, Upholstery
- Edward Wormley King Size Headboard for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CAEdward Wormley design King size headboard for Dunbar Furniture, Berne Indiana. Featuring an ebonized mahogany frame with a caned backrest intended for a king size mattress, no rails ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsCane, Mahogany
- Edward Wormley Headboard for DunbarLocated in Oakville, CTCalifornia King Headboard for Dunbar in Original Condition Overall Dimensions: 2 1/4" x 81 1/4" x 35 1/2" high Depth tapers from 2 1/4" - 1...Category
Mid-20th Century American Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsCane, Mahogany
- Edward Wormley Pair of Twin Headboards for Dunbar 1950sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYPair of twin headboards in mahogany with inset cane by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, American 1950's (original Dunbar paper label on back). The fr...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsCane, Mahogany