Cool Heywood-Wakefield Sofa, USA, 1950s
View Similar Items
Cool Heywood-Wakefield Sofa, USA, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30.5 in (77.47 cm)Width: 77 in (195.58 cm)Depth: 34.5 in (87.63 cm)Seat Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950-1959
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Miami, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU188835997073
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.
- Italian Sofa in the Style of Gio Ponti, 1950sBy Gio PontiLocated in Miami, FLFantastic Italian sofa from the 1950s. Very much in the style of Gio Ponti.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Great Side Tray Table, USA, 1950sBy Hans BellmannLocated in Miami, FLThe table was not build to carry a heavy item such as a lamp, cup of coffee and a book is a better idea.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Tray Tables
MaterialsWood
- Original Vladimir Kagan ‘Cloud’ Sofa with Ottoman and Rare Sofa Table EbonyBy Vladimir Kagan, DirectionalLocated in Miami, FLRare opportunity, Vladimir Kagan sofa with ottoman and attached sofa table. Sofa is from the 70ies and made by Directional, sofa table is about 2 years old and made by Vladimir Kagan...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Lucite, Wood
- Stunning Walnut and Marble Coffee Table, USA 1950sBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Miami, FLBeautiful Coffee Table from the 1950s, base is solid walnut, top is 1” thick Italian Marble. Ready for a new home.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Illum Wikkelsø Danish Modern Leather 'Capella' Sofa Cognac Leather RosewoodBy Illum WikkelsøLocated in Miami, FLBeautiful Rosewood sofa with cognac leather cushions designed by Illum Wikkelsø. All original condition. The Rosewood is beautiful with some normal age-related wear. The leather fe...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Rosewood
- Great Modern Sofa in Burnt Orange Velvet by SteelcaseBy Kazuhide Takahama, SteelcaseLocated in Miami, FLGreat modern sofa in burnt orange velvet made by Steelcase. In direct sunlight the orange color looks brighter.Category
Early 2000s American Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric
- Heywood Wakefield, Settee, Maple, Mohair, USA, 1950sBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in High Point, NCA maple and green mohair fabric settee designed and produced by Heywood Wakefield, USA, 1950s. Seat height 18.5” Reupholstered in brand new mohairCategory
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsMohair, Maple
- Heywood Wakefield, Settee, Maple, Fabric, USA, 1950sBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in High Point, NCA maple and green velvet fabric settee designed and produced by Heywood Wakefield, USA, 1950s. Seat height 16”Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsFabric, Velvet, Maple
- Heywood Wakefield, Settee, Maple, Velvet, USA, 1950sBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in High Point, NCA maple and green velvet fabric settee designed and produced by Heywood Wakefield, USA, 1950s. Seat height 16”Category
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsVelvet, Maple
- Heywood Wakefield Midcentury Hollywood Regency Bamboo Rattan Sectional SofaBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in South Bend, INAn exceptional Mid-Century Modern Hollywood Regency three-piece sectional sofa By Heywood Wakefield USA, 1950s Bamboo rattan, with upholstered cushions. Measures: 79" W x...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Bamboo, Rattan
- Rare Vintage Coastal Heywood Wakefield Rattan SofaLocated in west palm beach, FLAn incredible vintage Coastal rattan sofa. Made by the MCM master Heywood Wakefield. Beautiful scalloped design with a chic arched back and four seats. Structurally great and ready f...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Sofas
MaterialsRattan
- American Designer, Sofa, Oak, Fabric, USA, 1950sLocated in High Point, NCA oak and green fabric sofa, designed and produced in the US, 1950s. 14" seat heightCategory
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Oak