Heywood Wakefield American Wicker Table c1920s
View Similar Items
Heywood Wakefield American Wicker Table c1920s
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 18 in (45.72 cm)Depth: 21 in (53.34 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:C1920s
- Condition:Appropriate for its age and use.
- Seller Location:Atlanta, GA
- Reference Number:Seller: as10011stDibs: 1108138612362
Heywood-Wakefield Co.
Created by the 19th-century merger of two venerable Massachusetts furniture makers, Heywood-Wakefield was one of the largest and most successful companies of its kind in the United States. In its early decades, the firm thrived by crafting affordable and hugely popular wicker pieces in traditional and historical styles. In the midst of the Great Depression, however, Heywood-Wakefield reinvented itself, creating instead the first modernist furnishings to be widely embraced in American households.
The Heywoods were five brothers from Gardner, Massachusetts, who in 1826 started a business making wooden chairs and tables in their family shed. As their company grew, they moved into the manufacture of furniture with steam-bent wood frames and cane or wicker seats, backs and sides. In 1897, they joined forces with a local rival, the Wakefield Rattan Company, whose founder, Cyrus Wakefield, got his start on the Boston docks buying up lots of discarded rattan, which was used as cushioning material in the holds of cargo ships, and transforming it into furnishings. The conglomerate initially did well with both early American style and woven pieces, but taste began to change at the turn of the 20th century and wicker furniture fell out of fashion. In 1930, the company brought in designer Gilbert Rohde, a champion of the Art Deco style. Before departing in 1932 to lead the Michigan furniture maker Herman Miller, Rohde created well-received sleek, bentwood chairs for Heywood-Wakefield and gave its colonial pieces a touch of Art Deco flair.
Committed to the new style, Heywood-Wakefield commissioned work from an assortment of like-minded designers, including Alfons Bach, W. Joseph Carr, Leo Jiranek and Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, a Russian nobleman who had made his name in Europe creating elegant automotive body designs.
In 1936, the company introduced its “Streamline Modern” group of furnishings, presenting a look that would define the company’s wares for another 30 years. The buoyantly bright, blond wood — maple initially, later birch — came in finishes such as amber “wheat” and pink-tinted “champagne.” The forms of the pieces, at once light and substantial, with softly contoured edges and little adornment beyond artful drawer pulls and knobs, were featured in lines with names such as “Sculptura,” “Crescendo” and “Coronet.” It was forward-looking, optimistic and built to last — a draw for middle-class buyers in the Baby Boom years.
By the 1960s, Heywood-Wakefield began to be seen as “your parents’ furniture.” The last of the Modern line came out in 1966; the company went bankrupt in 1981. The truly sturdy pieces have weathered the intervening years well, having found a new audience for their blithe and happy sophistication.
Find a collection of vintage Heywood-Wakefield desks, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Bamboo Leg NightstandBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield mid century bamboo leg nightstand This nightstand measures: 18 wide x 16 deep x 25 inches high All pieces of furni...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsBamboo, Wood
- Heywood Wakefield American Victorian Wicker Umbrella StandBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in New York, NYAmerican Victorian natural wicker rectangular umbrella stand with solid woven back and cut out design on front. (HEYWOOD WAKEFIELD label).Category
Antique Late 19th Century American Victorian Umbrella Stands
MaterialsWicker, Wood
- Heywood Wakefield Two-Tier Two-Drawer Cinnamon Bedside TableBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Germantown, MDHeywood Wakefield mid Century style Two-Tier Two-Drawer Cinnamon nightstand Bedside Table in great condition. All solid wood with dovetail drawer construction. Measures 19.5" wide, 1...Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
$971 Sale Price25% Off - Heywood-Wakefield Full Size Headboard with NightstandsBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYThis stylish champagne finish maple headboard features iconic Heywood-Wakefield style and quality 1950s craftsmanship. The unique design of the piece o...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMaple
$1,120 Sale Price30% Off - Mid Century Encore Headboard by Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Cincinnati, OHA full sized Mid Century headboard in the champagne finish with sliding double doors having tapered solid brass pulls . The doors can be position...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsWood
- Burled Maple and Brass Nightstands after Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYExceptional nightstands in the unmistakable style of Massachusetts' Heywood Wakefield furniture. A beautiful burled maple veneer elevates the nightstands to a higher tier of luxury d...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsBrass