Vintage Drexel French Provincial Flame Mahogany Nightstand
View Similar Items
Vintage Drexel French Provincial Flame Mahogany Nightstand
About the Item
- Creator:Drexel (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)Depth: 14.25 in (36.2 cm)
- Style:French Provincial (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Mid-20th Century
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Top appears to have been refinished.
- Seller Location:Charlotte, NC
- Reference Number:Seller: 201202AL00001301stDibs: LU6025226412162
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 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 Dark Gold Painted Wood French Provincial King Size HeadboardBy DrexelLocated in Charlotte, NCA French Provincial style king size headboard by Drexel Heritage, from their Bordeaux line. Solid wood painted a darker shade of gold, decoratively carved pierced design with a serpe...Category
Late 20th Century American French Provincial Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsWood, Paint
- Late 20th Century French Country Style Plank Top NightstandLocated in Charlotte, NCA French Country style nightstand, unbranded. Hardwood painted antique white with a distressed finish to give the appearance of age, dark stai...Category
Late 20th Century East Asian French Provincial Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
- ROMWEBER Mid 20th Century Satinwood French Provincial Nightstands - PairBy Romweber Furniture Co.Located in Charlotte, NCA pair of French Provincial style nightstands by Romweber Furniture, from their Marquise Collection. Solid wood painted an antique white with satinwood to the top, door fronts & side...Category
Mid-20th Century American French Provincial Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
- DREXEL HERITAGE Chippendale Flame Mahogany China CabinetBy DrexelLocated in Charlotte, NCA Chippendale style china cabinet by Drexel Heritage. Mahogany with inlaid flame mahogany, brass hardware, crown moulding with pediment...Category
Late 20th Century American Chippendale Cabinets
MaterialsBrass
- Late 20th Century White Oak Colonial Single Drawer Two-Tier Nightstands - PairLocated in Charlotte, NCA pair of American Colonial style nightstands, unbranded, similar in quality to Thomasville. White oak with bass hardware, ogee edge to the top, turned side posts, undertier shelf an...Category
Late 20th Century American Art Deco Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
- DREXEL Chippendale Cherry Block Front Goddard Bachelor ChestBy DrexelLocated in Charlotte, NCA Chippendale Goddard style block front bachelor chest by Drexel. Solid cherry with brass hardware, block front, shell carvings to top drawer and ogee brac...Category
Late 20th Century American Chippendale Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley Pair of Nightstands Precedent Line Drexel, 1950s / 1960sBy Edward Wormley, DrexelLocated in Camden, MEEdward Wormley pair of nightstands for the Precedent collection by Drexel, circa 1947 The pair of silver elm nightstands have been refinished in a blac...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
$2,480 Sale Price / set27% Off - Drexel Heritage Italian Provincial Sculpted Pine Nightstands, PairBy DrexelLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous pair of Italian Provincial style nightstands By Drexel Heritage USA, Circa 1970s Sculpted pine, with original brass hardware. Measures: 24" W x 16" D x 22.25" ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Rustic Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
- Baker French Provincial Louis XV Cherry Nightstands or Side Tables, RefinishedBy Baker Furniture CompanyLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous pair of French Provincial Louis XV style bedside tables or end tables By Baker Furniture, "Milling Road" Collection USA, circa 1960s Carved cherry wood, with orig...Category
Vintage 1960s American French Provincial Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
- Drexel Flame Mahogany Banded Chippendale Side TableBy DrexelLocated in Germantown, MDBeautiful Chippendale flame Mahogany side table with banded top. One table Features one large drawer with with two drop down drawer pulls. The second table is larger and without draw...Category
Late 20th Century American Chinese Chippendale Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
$715 Sale Price / item26% Off - French Louis XV Provincial Style Night StandLocated in Sheffield, MAVintage French painted nightstand in beige tone with gold toned trim. The table has a cubby hole and one pull out drawer for storing things....Category
20th Century French Provincial Side Tables
MaterialsWood
- Fine Antique French Louis XVI Style Mahogany Nightstand TableLocated in Forney, TXA fine quality antique French Parisian marble-top mahogany bedside cabinet, circa 1890. Exquisitely hand-crafted in France in the late 19th century, exceptionally executed in refi...Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Night Stands
MaterialsMarble, Metal, Brass