Mid-Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Upholstered Wishbone Wheat Vanity Stool
View Similar Items
Mid-Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Upholstered Wishbone Wheat Vanity Stool
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)Diameter: 19.5 in (49.53 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- 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.
- Seller Location:Big Flats, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: 705111stDibs: LU2396320504312
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 - French Louis XVI Style Upholstered Vanity Stool 20thCLocated in Big Flats, NYFrench Louis XVI Style Upholstered Vanity Stool with Rosettes & Tapered Reeded Legs, 20thC Measures- 19''H x 17''W x 17''DCategory
20th Century Louis XVI Stools
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
$440 Sale Price20% Off - Hollywood Regency Brass Tassel & Rope Form Upholstered Vanity Stool 20thCLocated in Big Flats, NYHollywood Regency Brass Rope & Tassel Form Upholstered Vanity Stool 20thC Measures- 20.25''H x 16.25''W x 16.25''DCategory
20th Century Hollywood Regency Stools
MaterialsBrass
$440 Sale Price20% Off
- Mid-Century Modern Heywood Wakefield OttomanBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Clarksboro, NJThis listing is for a Mid-Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Ottoman. Featuring a curved rectangular top, champagne wood legs, and new upholste...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsWood, Upholstery
- Mid Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Side ChairBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Freehold, NJThis mid century modern side chair by Heywood Wakefield features hardwood construction, original champagne finish, vintage upholstery and tall tapered legs. Please check out our oth...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Birch, Maple
- Mid-Century Modern Lucite Stool, Vanity Stool, Bench on CastersLocated in Miami, FLMid-Century Modern Lucite stool on black casters. This stool can be used as a footstool, vanity stool or a place to put your magazine. The stool is firm and sturdy, ready for a new...Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsPlastic, Lucite
- Mid-Century Modern Oak Lounge Chair by Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYHandsome, Mid-Century Modern, lounge chair by Heywood Wakefield features a low-profile, oak frame with wide upturned arms. The cushions are newly upholstered in red tweed blend.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Oak
- Mid-Century Modern Sculptural Lucite Stool, Footstool, Vanity Stool Vinyl SeatLocated in Miami, FLSculptural Mid-Century Modern Lucite stool in off white vinyl seat and two handles. This stool can be used as a footstool, vanity stool or a place to put your magazine. Note the inte...Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Footstools
MaterialsPlastic, Lucite
- Mid century modern vanity stool by G plan, circa 1960sBy G Plan FurnitureLocated in Houston, TXMid century modern vanity stool by G plan, circa 1960s. Elegant example of mid-century chic. Matching vanity in photos is available in ...Category
Vintage 1960s European Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsTeak
