Heywood Wakefield Encore Tall Chest of Drawers
View Similar Items
Heywood Wakefield Encore Tall Chest of Drawers
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 48.5 in (123.19 cm)Width: 34 in (86.36 cm)Depth: 19 in (48.26 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1952
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. excellent original condition as good as it gets on a 66 year old piece. (loss of clear finish about an inch pictured).
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: SK0011stDibs: LU84309532341
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 Neoclassical Inlaid Faux 3 Drawer/ 1 Door CommodeLocated in Philadelphia, PAItalian neoclassical inlaid faux 3 drawer bowed front 1 door commode. Uncommon form with one swinging door that has the appearance of 3 pull out drawers. Inlaid top and sides. Overal...Category
Antique Early 19th Century Italian Neoclassical Commodes and Chests of D...
MaterialsBrass
$950 Sale Price67% Off - John Stuart Tall Walnut DresserBy John StuartLocated in Philadelphia, PAJohn Stuart Walnut Dresser with brass Knobs and new black iron legs. Book matched walnut veneer gives this dresser an amazing look! One shallow top drawer and then 4 deep drawers b...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- William Pahlmann Tall Dresser for HastingsBy William Pahlmann, HastingsLocated in Philadelphia, PAWilliam Pahlmann for Hastings furniture tall dresser. Walnut with Aluminum pulls that run across the top of each drawer. Listed separately 2 matching low dressers and nightstands. Or...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsAluminum
$1,995 Sale Price37% Off - Jack Cartwright for Founders Tall Dresser, 2 AvailableBy Jack Cartwright, Founders Furniture CompanyLocated in Philadelphia, PABeautiful Jack Cartwright walnut tall boy, six-drawer, dresser with black base and black wood inset detail. Dove-tale construction of drawers. Newly Re...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
$2,960 Sale Price / item20% Off - Tall Italian Raymor Bitossi Ceramic Bottle, c. 1950sBy BitossiLocated in Philadelphia, PATall Italian Raymor Bitossi Ceramic Bottle marked 1530 Italy, circa 1950, attr. to Bitossi for Raymor great color and glaze very nice original conditionCategory
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Bottles
MaterialsCeramic
- Aldo Londi for Bitossi Tall Ceramic Vase in Rimini BluBy Aldo Londi, BitossiLocated in Philadelphia, PAAldo Londi for Bitossi 18" round vase in Rimini Blu. Nice size and shape! Nice incised design throughout surface. Retains original Raymor Label to underside.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- 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
- 1950s Heywood Wakefield Encore long dresser & mirror art deco mid century modernBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Virginia Beach, VAAn exceptional 1950s, Heywood Wakefield Encore 8 drawer low dresser in a beautiful wheat color. Matching mirror included. Great rounded edges with elongated drawer pulls that span ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMaple
- 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
- 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 - Tall Gentleman's Chest of DrawersLocated in Locust Valley, NYA vintage eight drawer gentleman's chest with a pierced brass rail and marble top.Category
Early 20th Century Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMarble
- Heywood Wakefield Blond "Encore" Step Back Cupboard China Cabinet EtagereBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Van Nuys, CAMid-Century Modern era "Encore" china cabinet/step back cupboard by Heywood Wakefield featuring a light blond finish The cabinet has an upper showcase with two sliding glass doors wh...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsBirch