Edward Wormley for Dunbar Leather Executive Chair Circa 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer),Dunbar Furniture (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 43 in (109.22 cm)Width: 28 in (71.12 cm)Depth: 29 in (73.66 cm)Seat Height: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. In good vintage condition with just a slight amount of wear to the leather arms to give it an authentic vintage feel.
- Seller Location:Peabody, MA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU888036648552
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 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.
Dunbar Furniture
Revered for its handcrafted and highly collectible mid-century modern sofas, coffee tables and other furnishings, Dunbar Furniture was founded in 1910 in Berne, Indiana, but it didn’t gain widespread recognition until the ’30s, following the introduction of its president to a designer who would leave an indelible mark on the company’s legacy: Edward Wormley.
After a stint at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Oswego, Illinois-born Wormley worked as an interior designer for Marshall Field’s before joining Dunbar in 1931. Initially focused on developing the company’s cheapest furniture line, which could be bought with soap coupons, he was soon leading Dunbar Furniture into a new era of residential furniture for modern American homes. He would serve as the company’s design director for over three decades, designing about 150 pieces each year.
During that time, he oversaw the production of designs in a wide range of materials, with influences ranging from Scandinavian modernism to Art Deco. There were modern upholstery pieces, like swiveling lounge chairs and low-slung sofas, and experiments with textural wood on bar carts and cabinets as well as minimal, sculptural tables and functional office furniture. A passionate collector of Tiffany Studios lamps, Wormley used their glass tiles in Dunbar tables in 1956. He also worked on the reproduction of pieces by designers such as Jean-Michel Frank and Richard Riemerschmid.
One standout Dunbar Furniture collection was Janus, introduced in the 1960s, with Austrian-born ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler. These pieces see the Natzlers’ uniquely artful ceramic tiles set into several styles of wooden tables. They remain some of the most sought-after mid-century modern Dunbar pieces on the vintage market today. During the peak of his design career and, indeed, the height of Dunbar Furniture’s history, Wormley amassed a whopping 30 Good Design awards between 1950 and 1955 through the “Good Design” exhibition, hosted by the Chicago Merchandise Mart and the Museum of Modern Art. Dunbar today produces a limited selection of archival Wormley designs, but many sales of original Dunbar pieces are through the resale market.
Find a collection of authentic vintage Dunbar Furniture today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Peabody, MA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Two Tone Dresser in Mahogany and Rosewood Circa 1960sBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Peabody, MAThree drawer dresser by Edward Wormley for Dunbar with two-tone contrasting Honduran mahogany drawer fronts, top and sides, and rosewood trimmed case, circa 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMahogany, Rosewood
- Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Italia "Ondo" Executive Leather 1970s Desk ChairBy Saporiti, Gianni OffrediLocated in Peabody, MAA Saporiti Italia “Onda” executive swivel desk chair in leather with polished steel swivel base designed by Giovanni Offredi, ca. 1970sCategory
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Signed Dunbar Furniture Rosewood Bench Attributed to Edward Wormley, Ca. 1960sBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Peabody, MAA rosewood bench by Dunbar, ca. 1960, with original seat cushion and what appears to be a Jack Lenor Larsen jacquard fabric. This all-wood version of Dunbar's bench is most often at...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsUpholstery, Rosewood
- Carl Koch for Vermont Tubbs Sno Shu Chair, Circa 1950sBy Vermont Tubbs Furniture, Carl KochLocated in Peabody, MACirca 1950s rawhide woven Adirondack style chair by Vermont Tubbs Snowshoe company designed by Gropius trained architect Carl Koch for his Tech...Category
Vintage 1950s American Adirondack Lounge Chairs
MaterialsHide, Wood
- Tommi Parzinger for Charak Modern Leather and Mahogany Chest, circa 1950sBy Tommi Parzinger, Charak Furniture CompanyLocated in Peabody, MAChest of drawers designed by Tommi Parzinger for Charak Modern, ca. 1950s. Embossed leather drawer fronts with cast bronze hardware.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsBronze
- Pair of Roberto Mango Wicker "Sunflower" Garden Chairs for Tecno, circa 1950sBy Roberto Mango, TecnoLocated in Peabody, MAA pair of conical wicker “Sunflower” chairs by architect Roberto Mango for Tecno and imported to the US by Allan Gould Designs. Founded in 1953, Tecno ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsWrought Iron
- Edward Wormley Executive Office ChairBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Chicago, ILWormley for Dunbar “In Clover” 932 Executive chair button tufted leather, solid walnut base, brass casters, tilts and swivels with adjustable seat height. Dunbar Un...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Architectural Designer Desk Chair By Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Chicago, ILArchitectural Designer Desk Chair By Edward Wormley for Dunbar Wood shows some wear. I think will benefit from some touching up from a refinishe...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWood
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Swivel Chair, C. 1950sBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Westport, CTA swivel lounge chair designed by the iconic Edward Wormely for Dunbar Furniture, circa 1950-1959. Completely restored, fitted with new high-grade hand cut foam with all insides full...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
MaterialsVelvet, Mahogany
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Tufted Cantilevered Desk Chair in Spinneybeck Saddle LBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar tufted cantilevered desk chair in spinneybeck saddle leather, reupholstered. Also features solid walnut wood base and ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Edward J. Wormley Lounge Chair and Ottoman circa 1950s for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in St. Louis, MOEdward J. Wormley lounge chair and ottoman for Dunbar circa 1950s on solid brass castors. The lounge chair has a trapezoid shape, wider in the front (27.5" W) and tapers to the back....Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Slipper Chair circa 1950s with Original UpholsteryBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Los Angeles, CAComfortable armless lounge slipper chair by Edward Wormley for Dunbar in beautiful plaid upholstery. A true collectors piece with no modifications and in excellent vintage condition....Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWalnut