Rare Set of 8 Edward Wormley for Dunbar Ebonized Mahogany Dining ChairsItem Status:
- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
Rare Set of 8 Edward Wormley for Dunbar Ebonized Mahogany Dining Chairs

About
Details
- CreatorEdward Wormley (Designer),Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer)
- DimensionsHeight: 30.75 in. (78.11 cm)Width: 19 in. (48.26 cm)Seat Height: 18 in. (45.72 cm)
- Sold AsSet of 8
- StyleMid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and TechniquesEbonizedMahogany
- Period
- Date of Manufacturecirca 1950s
- ConditionRepaired: There has been a repair to the caning of one of the chairs. Not noticeable. Wear consistent with age and use. There are a couple very small spots on the original upholstery as photographed. Not noticeable under casual observation.
- Seller LocationTempe, AZ
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU1139221338022
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingRates vary by destination and complexity. We recommend this shipping type based on item size, type and fragility.Ships From: Tempe, AZ
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
About Edward Wormley (Designer)
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 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 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 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.

- By Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Tempe, AZAvailable right now we have this absolutely stunning ebonized bar cart by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, circa 1950s...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsBentwood
- By Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Tempe, AZThis buffet is absolutely stunning! This ebonized mahogany and walnut sideboard / buffet designed by Edward Worm...Category
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsMahogany, Walnut
- By Johnson Furniture Company, Paul FranklLocated in Tempe, AZThese dining chairs are absolutely stunning! Professionally restored, these chairs were designed by Paul Frankl ...Category
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMahogany
$5,400 Sale Price / set31% Off - By Maison RougierLocated in Tempe, AZA gorgeous set of 6 chrome dining chairs by Rougier. These dining chairs feature a great modern or Postmodern an...Category
Vintage 1980s Canadian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- By ThinlineLocated in Tempe, AZAn absolutely stunning set of 4 Thinline dining chairs. The chairs have a solid aluminum body and feature a gorg...Category
Vintage 1960s American Hollywood Regency Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- By Memphis Group, Michele de LucchiLocated in Tempe, AZAn eye-popping gorgeous set of 6 Memphis Milano style dining chairs from the 1990s! These vintage chairs are in ...Category
1990s Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$2,600 Sale Price54% Off
You May Also Like
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Walnut, Leather
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Walnut, Upholstery
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Brass
The 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Insured Global Delivery