Antique Baker Glass and Walnut Breakfront and Secretaire, Slim Profile
View Similar Items
Antique Baker Glass and Walnut Breakfront and Secretaire, Slim Profile
About the Item
- Creator:Baker Furniture Company (Cabinetmaker)
- Dimensions:Height: 83 in (210.82 cm)Width: 56.5 in (143.51 cm)Depth: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)
- Style:American Classical (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Early 20th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. top of base has scratches..
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4119316189492
Baker Furniture Company
Owing to the company’s collaborations with many leading designers and artists over time, vintage Baker furniture is consistently sought after today. The heritage brand’s chairs, dining tables, desks and other pieces are widely known to collectors and design enthusiasts for their fine craftsmanship and durability.
Within a few decades of its launch, Baker Furniture Company evolved into one of the largest and most important furniture manufacturers in the United States, and became known for its high-quality production standards. Siebe Baker and business partner Henry Cook founded the original iteration of Baker Furniture Company in 1890 in Allegan, Michigan, after immigrating to the United States from the Netherlands. Allegan is a small town west of Grand Rapids, which, at that time was home to Widdicomb Furniture Co. and more and was known as America’s furniture capital. The company manufactured doors and interior moldings, and introduced a combination desk and bookcase in 1893. In the early 1900s, Siebe became sole owner of the business.
Among others, stage designer Joseph Urban and modernist designer Kem Weber contributed designs to Baker in the 1920s. In 1932, under the leadership of Siebe’s son, Hollis, who started at the company as a salesman but took the reins when his father passed in 1925, Baker Furniture introduced bedroom pieces and debuted its Manor House collection, which made reproductions of European furnishings available to the American market. (Hollis was an avid traveler and procured antiques overseas for the company to reproduce in the United States.) Soon, Baker Furniture Company moved to Holland, Michigan, and eventually opened showrooms in Grand Rapids and elsewhere.
Pioneering Scandinavian designer Finn Juhl created a Danish modern line for Baker in 1951, and the company produced his award-winning Chieftain chair for a short time. In the late 1950s, Baker introduced the Milling Road label to reach a younger audience with stylish but less costly furnishings like console tables, walnut dining chairs and more, and in 1961, British furniture designer T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings introduced a modern neoclassical line at Baker.
The 1960s and ’70s saw the introduction of historic reproduction furniture lines such as Woburn Abbey and the Historic Charleston collection, which remain very popular to this day. In 1990, Baker was licensed to produce a furniture line from Colonial Williamsburg. That same year, the Smithsonian Museum introduced Baker’s Chippendale chair into its permanent collection and the Grand Rapids Art Museum dedicated an exhibition to Baker’s 100-year anniversary, a showcase that included 150 pieces of furniture Siebe Baker had collected as part of a larger assortment that had served as inspiration for his designs.
Today, vintage Baker furniture, such as its elegant mahogany nightstands and teak credenzas — particularly those crafted by Finn Juhl — sees high demand online and elsewhere. The company continues to produce contemporary collections with well-known designers such as Bill Sofield, Barbara Barry and Kara Mann and remains on par with some of the highest quality furniture in the industry.
Browse vintage Baker armchairs, sofas, coffee tables and more on 1stDibs.
- Fine George I Burr Walnut Secretaire CabinetLocated in Lymington, GBA fine English George I-period burr (burl) walnut secretaire cabinet. Early-18th century, ca 1720. The top section separates from the base and opens to reveal numerous fitted drawers, behind doors with original bevelled arched mirror plates. The base contains a fall-front fitted secretaire with small drawers, two of which have secret drawers. Engraved mounts are contemporary if not original. All locks and cross-grained mouldings are original. Beautiful colour throughout with superb matched burr veneers within herringbone lines. Bun feet are original. Lined throughout in best quality English oak. The well-patinated green, gilt-tooled liner in the writing surface appears original. Very much in the style of John Old & William Ody. One of the most original early-18th century pieces of English walnut cabinet...Category
Antique 18th Century English George I Cabinets
MaterialsWalnut
- Impressive 18th Century Italian Venetian Walnut SecretaireLocated in San Francisco, CAAn impressive and unusually tall Venetian black walnut and burled walnut secretary. The mirrored top cabinet doors opening to reveal a multi dr...Category
Antique 18th Century Italian Rococo Secretaires
MaterialsMirror, Walnut
$16,185 Sale Price35% Off - Russian Neoclassic Mahogany SecretaireLocated in New York, NYRussian Neoclassic (Late 18th/ Early 19th Century) ormolu mounted ebonized and mahogany secretaire cabinet with a Pair of doors above a fitted fall...Category
Antique Early 19th Century Russian Neoclassical Secretaires
MaterialsOrmolu
- 19th Century Biedermeier Walnut Secretaire. Austria, c. 1825-30.Located in Vienna, ATHello, This elegant and early Austrian Biedermeier secretaire was made circa 1825-30. The Secretaire is an example of beautiful, rare ...Category
Antique Early 19th Century Austrian Biedermeier Secretaires
MaterialsBrass
- Biedermeier SecretaireLocated in Pompano Beach, FLBiedermeier Secretaire made of walnut, root wood and ebonized wood with fall-front writing surface, interior drawers and secret compartments.Category
Antique 19th Century Secretaires
MaterialsWood
$9,500 Sale Price67% Off - Biedermeier SecretaireLocated in Pompano Beach, FLBiedermeier secretaire made of walnut and cherry with fall front writing surface, nine interior drawers, mirrored cubby hole and three exterior drawers. Germany circa 1840.Category
Antique 19th Century Secretaires
MaterialsCherry, Walnut
$17,500 Sale Price50% Off