Six Mid-Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Wishbone Dining Chairs, Wheat, c1950
View Similar Items
Six Mid-Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Wishbone Dining Chairs, Wheat, c1950
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 33 in (83.82 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Overall very good condition, tight and sturdy with some upholstery staining as photographed.
- Seller Location:Big Flats, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: 723031stDibs: LU2396325194622
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.
- Mid-Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Double Bed, Wheat Finish, circa 1950By Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Big Flats, NYA Mid-Century Modern double or full size bed by Heywood Wakefield offers birch construction in Wheat finish, maker and finish marks as photographed, circa 1950 Measures- Headboa...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsBirch
$1,160 Sale Price20% Off - Mid Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Dresser & Mirror in Wheat, Circa 1950By Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Big Flats, NYMid Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Dresser & Mirror offers Birch Construction in Wheat Finish with Three Long Drawers, Circa 1950 Measures- 62.75''H x 45.75''W x 19.25''DCategory
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMirror, Birch
$1,320 Sale Price20% Off - Mid-Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Double Bed Frame, Wheat Finish, Circa 1950By Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Big Flats, NYA Mid-Century Modern double bed frame by Heywood Wakefield offers birch construction in Wheat finish, maker mark as photographed, c1950 Measures- Headboard 35''H x 59''W x 2''D; Foo...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsBirch
$960 Sale Price20% Off - Mid Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Two Door Bookcase in Wheat Circa 1950By Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Big Flats, NY***Ask About Reduced In-House Shipping Rates - Reliable Service & Fully Insured*** Mid Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Bookcase with Upper Shelf over Double Door Blind Cabinet in Wh...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsBirch
$1,160 Sale Price20% Off - Antique Victorian Heywood Wakefield School Rolled Arm Photographers Chair c1890By Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Big Flats, NYAn antique Victorian photographers chair in the manner of Heywood Wakefield offers wicker construction with rolled back and arm over bombe form sea...Category
Antique Late 19th Century American Victorian Chairs
MaterialsWicker
$600 Sale Price20% Off - Six Mid Century Danish Modern Teakwood Dining Chairs C1960Located in Big Flats, NY***Ask About Reduced In-House Delivery Rates - Reliable Professional Service & Fully Insured*** Six Mid Century Danish Modern Teakwood Dining Chairs C1960 Measures- 37.5''H x 19.25'...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsTeak
$2,120 Sale Price / set20% Off
- Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Tuxedo Dining Chairs, Set of 6By Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield mid century tuxedo dining chairs - Set of 6 Each chair measures: 19 wide x 21 deep x 31.75 high, with a seat height of 18 inches...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Set of Six Spindle Back Dining Chairs by Heywood Wakefield, 1960sBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Rosendahl, DESet of six Mid-Century Modern spindle back chairs manufactured by Heywood Wakefield. Sidechairs are 50 cm wide, arm chairs 58 cm.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCherry
- Heywood Wakefield Style Mid Century Ladder Back Chairs, PairBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield style mid century ladder back chairs - Pair Each chair measures: 20 wide x 21 deep x 37 inches high, with a seat hei...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Set of 4 Mid-Century Modern Dining Chairs by Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Freehold, NJThis set of 4 Mid-Century Modern dining chairs by Heywood Wakefield features hardwood construction, original champagne finish, unique bentwood backs, vin...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Birch
$1,060 Sale Price / set20% Off - Set of 4 Mid-Century Modern Dining Chairs by Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Los Angeles, CAExpertly Refinished, Newly Reupholstered Materials: Solid Birch Wood, New Tweed Fabric With over 15 years of experience, our workshop has followed a careful process of restoration,...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Birch
- Mid-Century Dining Chairs by Arne Vodder, c1950By Arne Vodder, SibastLocated in Paddock Wood Tonbridge, GBSet of four dining chairs, 2 carvers and 2 side chairs designed by Arne Vodder, manufactured by Sibast in Denmark circa 1950s. These chairs are made of thick black saddle hyde on a b...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsRosewood
$3,825 / set
