Robsjohn-Gibbings Sofa by Widdicomb
View Similar Items
Robsjohn-Gibbings Sofa by Widdicomb
About the Item
- Creator:Widdicomb Furniture Co. (Maker),T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 34 in (86.36 cm)Width: 72 in (182.88 cm)Depth: 34 in (86.36 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:N/A
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU8089953574
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings
British-born designer, interior decorator and author T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (1905–76) was one of the great American tastemakers in the middle decades of the 20th century. Much like Edward Wormley, Robsjohn-Gibbings was a design classicist by education and inclination, but he would come to create some of the most gracious and livable modern furnishings of the era.
Robsjohn-Gibbings studied architecture at the University of London, then held various jobs that included designing décors for passenger liners and working as the art director of a film studio. In the early 1930s, while employed by the upper-crust interior designer Charles J. Duveen, Robsjohn-Gibbings experienced an epiphany during a visit to the British Museum. Examining the furniture depicted on ancient Greek ceramics — lithe stools and klismos chairs — he realized that he had found a design touchstone. By 1936, he had moved to New York and set up a showroom on Madison Avenue for his modern reinterpretations of classic Greek designs. Aided by contacts he’d developed while working with Duveen, he quickly established a clientele that included Elizabeth Arden, Doris Duke and Thelma Chrysler Foy.
Through his writings for magazines and books, Robsjohn-Gibbings earned a public following and was established as an urbane arbiter of taste. From 1943 to 1956, he produced an understated line of modernist furnishings for Widdicomb, which included one of the icons of the period: the tiered, biomorphic Mesa coffee table (1951). Robsjohn-Gibbings moved to Athens, Greece, in 1966, and created a new line of antiquity-inspired pieces for the firm Saridis. The series turned out to be his swan song.
Collectors’ interest in Robsjohn-Gibbings was reignited in the 1980s, when the 200-plus pieces from his 1936–38 commission for the Bel-Air estate of Los Angeles socialite Hilda Boldt Weber — pared-down neoclassical pieces rendered in blond wood (with the occasional flourish) — came on the market. (Up until then, the collection had remained in the house, despite its having changed hands several times.)
But his work for Widdicomb remains his most widely known, appreciated for its elegance and generous proportions. Robsjohn-Gibbings despised the stern aesthetic associated with his Bauhaus contemporaries, and a keynote of his modernist pieces is that they have no sharp angles. His chair and sofa frames, table legs and even many cabinets feature softly contoured edges. In whatever styled he designed, Robsjohn-Gibbings was guided by simplicity and timelessness. He wanted his furniture to be lived with happily.
Widdicomb Furniture Co.
Admirers of vintage mid-century modern furnishings likely recognize the Widdicomb Furniture Company name for the fruitful partnerships it forged with iconic designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and Mario Buatta. But there is more to the Widdicomb story than the albeit quite covetable sofas and bedroom furniture it produced during the middle of the 20th century.
A wealth of pine and oak forests rendered Grand Rapids, Michigan, a logging center during the 1800s, and it eventually gained recognition for its furniture industry. The American city became a destination for furniture makers who hailed from across the United States and beyond. Furniture maker George Widdicomb emigrated from England to the United States in 1845, eventually setting up a cabinet shop in Syracuse, New York, before moving west to Grand Rapids. There, he opened a shop with his four sons, including John Widdicomb, whose name would help carry the family legacy into the 20th century.
The Widdicomb shop in Grand Rapids prospered, as the patriarch’s formal English training allowed him to produce pieces with superior craftsmanship compared to those of his competitors. Although the Civil War halted business and took the life of one of the Widdicomb brothers, the family’s survivors would start anew as Widdicomb Brothers and Richards, soon renamed the Widdicomb Furniture Company.
John Widdicomb, however, split from the family business in 1897 to create the John Widdicomb Company, where he would go on to focus on Louis XV- and French Provincial-style furnishings. Chairs made in these styles have distinct characteristics, such as floral motifs carved in the frames and gently angled backrests. John's company also remained a family affair: The founder’s son, Harry, assumed control of the company when his father died in 1910, while John's nephew Ralph Widdicombe — who retained the English spelling of his last name and joined the John Widdicomb Company at its start — designed every single piece of the offerings at his uncle's manufacturing outfit until he retired in 1951. Ralph was an internationally distinguished furniture designer whose modern mahogany bedroom suite won first prize at the Paris Exposition in 1900.
The original iteration of Widdicomb, which was helmed by John's older brother William while John ran his own brand, had shifted from making period revival styles of furniture, such as Georgian and Chippendale, to manufacturing modern pieces in the late 1920s. Today vintage Widdicomb seating, tables and other pieces produced during the postwar years are particularly sought after by collectors of mid-20th-century furniture.
In 1959, master woodworker George Nakashima created his Origins collection for Widdicomb when the firm merged with Mueller Furniture Corporation and was known, for around 10 years, as Widdicomb-Mueller. Origins, a revered Shaker-influenced group of nightstands, upholstered lounge chairs, dining-room tables and more, saw Nakashima working with woods like Carpathian elm and laurel in his Pennsylvania studio.
Eventually, the two Widdicomb companies would combine in 1970, operating under the name John Widdicomb Co.
In 2002, the business closed after more than a century of operations, and its assets were acquired by Stickley Furniture. Interestingly, it was not the first time Widdicomb and Stickley overlapped: In the final years of the 19th century, the companies opened a shared storehouse in London, while John Widdicomb and Albert Stickley would travel Europe together for the purposes of research.
Find vintage Widdicomb coffee tables, case pieces, dining chairs and more on 1stDibs.
- T H Robsjohn Gibbings coffee table for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Los Angeles, CATraditional and elegant coffee table by Robsjohn Gibbings.Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Fontana Arte Lidded Glass Bowl by Max Ingrand.SignedBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Los Angeles, CAGlass and metal covered dish by Fontana Arte , model 2004,circa 1960"s designed by Max Ingrand.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsGlass
- Hand Blown Green, Gold, Silver Foil Murano Vase by Giulio Radi for AVEMBy Giulio RadiLocated in Los Angeles, CAJust an amazing work with so many technics and combination of gold and silver and red and green,yellow glass.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsMurano Glass
- Sven Wejsfelt Ceramic Fish Plates Set 3, Pcs 'Stim' by Gustavsberg, SwedenBy GustavbergLocated in Los Angeles, CANice small collection of three pieces designed by Wejsfelt, all sizes are different if you need help. the one up is the platter.Category
Vintage 1980s Swedish Post-Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Calo Scarpa "Corroso Vase" by Venini Murano Glass, SignedBy Venini, Carlo ScarpaLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis is a very well-known piece by Carlo Scarpa, acid signed four lines underside, Murano Venini made in Italy. Mint condition.Rare piece .Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Salviati platter/Centerpiece abstract Murano glass by Luciano Gaspari .By Salviati, Luciano GaspariLocated in Los Angeles, CABeautiful abstract technique by the Maestro Murano blower Luciano Gaspari.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Glass
MaterialsMurano Glass
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Sofa, WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Raleigh, NCA sofa, model 1678, designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Furniture Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan. In his typical fashion, Robsjohn-Gibbings blends a modern expressio...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Maple
- T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Model 1676 by Widdicomb Attributed SofaBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Los Angeles, CAThis stylish Mid-Century Modern three-seat sofa, attributed to model 1676 by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb featuring a blonde wood frame and velvet upholstery. This sofa was ...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Wood
$2,300 Sale Price57% Off - Vintage T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings Bleached Walnut Sofa for WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in East Hampton, NYLoveseat by T.H Robsjohn Gibbings, for Widdicomb. This sofa features rounded original solid bleached walnut wood frame with armrests. The cushions have been newly reupholstered in a ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
- T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings Loveseat for WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Los Angeles, CALoveseat by T.H Robsjohn Gibbings, for Widdicomb c.1950s USA. This sofa features rounded stained beech wood frame with armrests. The cushions have been newly reupholstered in a gray ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
MaterialsFabric, Beech
- Exciting T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbing for Widdicomb Curved Sculptured Wood Edge SofaBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Pemberton, NJRare T. H. Robsjon-Gibbings for Widdicomb sculptural wooden edge sofa. Just look at that sexy curved teak edge along with tall tapered legs-so well designed! This sofa measures 29" T...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Teak
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Sofa for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Dallas, TXA rare armless sofa / daybed with brass legs. Designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb. Reupholstered in Holly Hunt / Royal Alpaca / Angora.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsWalnut