Heywood Wakefield Block Front Chest of Drawers
View Similar Items
Heywood Wakefield Block Front Chest of Drawers
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 44.5 in (113.03 cm)Width: 33.5 in (85.09 cm)Depth: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1940s-1950s
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. refinished.
- Seller Location:Palm Springs, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: FCA-16-9 1stDibs: LU90857911673
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.
- Edmond Spence Swedish Mid-Century Chest of DrawersBy Edmond J. SpenceLocated in Palm Springs, CAVery sculptural chest of drawers in ebonized mahogany by Edmond Spence (often misspelled as "Edmund Spence"), circa 1955. Concave front with hexagonal legs with brass sabot...Category
20th Century Swedish Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Chest of Drawers by Gilbert Rohde for Herman MillerBy Herman Miller, Gilbert RohdeLocated in Palm Springs, CAA pair of three drawer chests, designed by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller in the the 1930's. Bleached mahogany cabinets with original padded naugahyde drawer fronts. Great detailing...Category
20th Century American Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMahogany, Naugahyde
- Mid Century Three Drawer ChestLocated in Palm Springs, CAA lovely small scale three drawer chest in cherry with a dark walnut finish. Picture frame front, inset, canted legs lend this piece an air of sophistication. Original brass pulls.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsBrass
- Mid-Century Italian Parchment and Mahogany ChestLocated in Palm Springs, CAA six drawer chest with parchment drawer fronts, brass legs and handles, in a ribbon mahogany case. Elegant and light, this chest would be a lovely accent to any room.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsBrass
- Classical Mahogany Chest with ColumnsLocated in Palm Springs, CAA lovely flame mahogany chest of four drawers with a two drawer superstructure. With Scrolled apron and carved half columns, raised on turned feet. Mahogany veneers and solids.Category
Antique 19th Century American American Classical Commodes and Chests of ...
MaterialsMahogany
- Pair of European Art Deco Burl CabinetsLocated in Palm Springs, CAA large pair of bookmatched burl veneer cabinets that form a large buffet. Tops in original black glass. One cabinet with internal drawers on one s...Category
20th Century European Art Deco Cabinets
MaterialsBurl
$6,500 / set
- Mid 20th Century Vintage Heywood Wakefield Chest Air Drawers - a PairBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in west palm beach, FLA fabulous pair of vintage MCM chests of drawers. Made by the iconic Heywood Wakefield group and tagged inside the drawer. A chic maple cabinet with a fabulous retro shape. Acquired ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMaple
- American Walnut Block Front Chest of DrawersLocated in Palm Beach Gardens, FLA gorgeous one-of-a-kind block front style chest of drawers in walnut. Quality is what describes this piece best. Handcrafted with attention to detail such as the 3-dimensional wood ...Category
Vintage 1940s Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWalnut
- Gray Painted Block Front Chest of DrawersLocated in WEST PALM BEACH, FLThe soft grey block front three drawer chest offers a delicate accent for any room. Primary wood is pine and later painted. Hardware is highlighted in silver, circa 20th century.Category
20th Century American Other Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsPine
- Important Antique Mahogany Block Front Chest of DrawersLocated in Bridgeport, CTAn important and rare American Historical Block Front Chest. In mahogany with pine drawers. Provenance: Roy Thompson. Labeled Boston or Charleston, i...Category
Antique 19th Century American American Classical Commodes and Chests of ...
MaterialsBrass
- Heywood Wakefield Sculptura Maple Vanity with MirrorBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Oakland, CABeautifully restored Midcentury Heywood Wakefield Sculptura vanity with mirror crafted of solid maple with three drawers and glass shelf, a...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vanities
MaterialsCut Glass, Mirror, Maple
$2,880 Sale Price40% Off - Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Tambour Door VanityBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield mid century tambour door vanity This vanity measures: 49.75 wide x 20 deep x 58.5 inches high, with a chair clearance...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vanities
MaterialsMirror, Wood