Vintage Coastal Dixie Shangri-La Tall Fretwork Chest of Drawers

Born in 1889, designer and entrepreneur Henry Link studied at Yadkin College and began his career as a banker in Lexington, North Carolina, and New York before taking leadership of the Dixie Furniture Company in 1936. 

Established in 1901, the small Lexington company initially became known for its production of oak and walnut bedroom furniture. At the time, the region was home to busy textile mills and furniture production facilities such as the Crowell Furniture Company, Standard Parlor Furniture Company and more. With Link at the helm, Dixie grew following a merger with the Elk Furniture Company. While Link is best known today for his high-quality wicker dressers, desks, chairs and other seating, he was also a key figure in revolutionizing America’s furniture industry and moving it toward mass production during the early 20th century.

Link was overseeing the manufacturing of bedroom furniture for middle-class families during the late 1930s at Dixie when he visited Henry Ford’s automobile plant in Detroit, Michigan. Dixie had two plants and approximately 90 employees at the time. At the Ford plant, Link became inspired by the factory’s assembly process. Upon his return to Lexington, Link installed automatic conveyors and mass-production techniques at Dixie.

To facilitate Dixie Furniture Company’s exponential growth, four separate divisions were created in the 1950s and 1960s, including Henry Link Furniture. Although the Link collection was initially known for its line of girls’ bedroom furniture, it expanded with a range of styles — from striking reproductions of French Provincial furniture to Polynesian-inspired designs. By the 1970s, Link’s division was among the first in America to popularize casual wicker furnishings such as bohemian-chic dressers, side tables, end tables and center tables. Among Link’s other popular designs were chinoiserie “Mandarin” cabinets, Chinese Chippendale accent chairs and bamboo dining room chairs.

In 1987, the Dixie Furniture Company and its divisions — including Henry Link Furniture — were bought by Michigan’s Masco Corporation and renamed Lexington Furniture Industries (Lexington was among the top ten largest furniture brands in the nation by the late 1980s). Meanwhile, Link was posthumously inducted into the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame in 1998.

Today, Link’s pieces are highly coveted by interior designers and avid collectors of mid-century modern wicker and rattan furniture.Find vintage Dixie furniture on 1stDibs.