1930s Commodes and Chests of Drawers

Chic pair of streamline Art Moderne dressers designed by Gilbert Rohde, for Herman Miller c 1936. The dressers feature opposing right and left c...

Exceptional mid century dresser made by the noted American manufacturer Distinctive Furniture by Stanley, circa 1950/1960’s. The dresser features two banks of three deep drawers, whi...

Pair of Paul McCobb planner group maple & black six drawer dressers, 1950's. Featuring classic Paul McCobb modular design including four rectangula...

Majestic and elegant chest of drawers by Osvaldo Borsani produced in the Varedo Atelier of his father Gaetano Borsani , original in every part, with bakelite handles, 1930s Art Deco chest of drawers, commode , in burl walnut with mirror, polished to wax. Excellent condition. Measures cm: D 53, W 120, H 100. mirror cm: W 90 H 75. About Osvaldo Borsani Osvaldo Borsani (born 1911, Varedo, Italy–died 1985, Milano, Italy) was an Italian designer and architect, born into a family of furniture makers with along and well established artisanal tradition. His father, Gaetano Borsani, owned his own furniture shop, the Atelier di Varedo, where the 16-year-old Osvaldo received his first training. At that time, the designer of the atelier was the architect Gino Maggioni, who brought with him influences of the early 20th century Jugendstil movement from Vienna and who instilled in the young Borsani an appreciation for the arts and crafts and furniture making. Osvaldo Borsani first studied fine arts at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, graduating in 1931, and then pursued studies in architecture at Politecnico di Milano, where he graduated in 1936. In 1933, two years before graduating as an architect, Borsani designed the Casa Minima project for the V Triennale di Milano (Milan Triennial), along with architects Cairoli and Varisco. This project earned him a silver medal for its Rationalist code and geometries, and he received positive reviews from the critic Edoardo Persico of Casabella magazine. Villa Borsani And Other Prominent Architectural Work In 1937, Osvaldo Borsani designed Villa Presenti in Forte dei Marmi, a sea town in Tuscany where the Italian aristocracy and industrial elite would build their houses, a project that displayed the same rationalistic rigor displayed in Casa Minima, but softened by the use of mediterranean finishes and materials. Villa Borsani designed by Osvaldo Borsani. Varedo, Italy Villa Borsani. Varedo, Italy In 1943, Osvaldo designed and built his own house, the Villa Borsani, in Varedo, which, despite being conceptualized under strict Rationalist principles, incorporated objects and art of younger artists that communicate a freer approach to the human expression. The Villa Borsani project involved artists such as Adriano Spilimbergo, Fausto Melotti, Lucio Fontana (who made the ceramic fireplace and the ceramic Madonna), and Agenore Fabbri (who made the bronze statue in the staircase). To this day, Villa Borsani has been preserved with most of its original furniture and it remains with Osvaldo Borsani’s family along with the extensive archives of his work. Osvaldo Borsani As a Successful Product and Furniture Designer After Villa Borsani, Osvaldo continued to develop many projects for the Milanese bourgeoisie, frequently with many of the same artists whom he employed for his villa. A particularly strong relationship was the one that Osvaldo developed with artist Lucio Fontana, a close friend since the time of the Accademia de Belle Arti di Brera, and whom Borsani assigned to make a large metal balcony for the Tecno company in 1956. Osvaldo Borsani’s design work, just as his larger architectural projects, which he also considered design work, very often incorporated elements created by other artists and designers such as: Roberto Crippa, Arnaldo and Giò Pomodoro, Agenore Fabbri, Fausto Melotti, Andrea Cascella...

Custom 6-drawer silver trim mirrored dresser with Lucite knobs. Customization is available in different sizes, finishes, and hardware.

Swedish Art Deco chest fitted with three spacious drawers in beautiful mahogany with flame birch sides and legs. This chest has nickel pulls. Pe...

Handsome Art Deco chest of drawers. Original painted finish and golden elm top. Detailed with brass pulls, decorative centerpiece and uniquely shaped legs.

Beautifully refinished mahogany vanity/coiffeuse by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller with original off-white "leather cloth" (Fabrikoid) top and padded drawers. Kneehole: 26" high x 22" wide x 17.5" deep See our separate listings for other pieces from this same collection. See pages from original 1941 Herman Miller catalog.

A light oak parquetry six-drawer dresser in dawn finish. This beautiful hand-carved oak dresser includes six drawers with mirrored herringbone starburst ...

Gilbert Rohde designed this chest for Herman Miller as part of his 1941 Paldao Line of streamline modernist and modular furniture in exotic veneer. This is model no. 4103, two-door cabinet with distinctively incised large round pulls, interior fitted with two adjustable shelves behind the left door and five pull-out drawers behind the right door, fronts finished in black enamel. The case top and sides are Paldao wood; the doors are in highly figured burl Acacia. The finish is called "Beaver" which is natural color, no stain, satin varnish. The back is numbered "4130." All of Rohde's designs for Herman Miller are marked with a 4-digit number; the first two numbers indicate the year, and the second two numbers indicate the individual piece. Newly refinished and ready to place in your home. The Herman Miller Furniture Company was devoted to manufacturing period reproduction furniture until Pioneer industrial designer Gilbert Rohde walked into their Grand Rapids showroom in 1930. A devout modernist, Rohde convinced D.J. De Pree to focus on modern furniture throughout the 1930s, and to produce exclusively modern furniture by the time Rohde died in 1944. Work by the pioneering American industrial and furniture designer, Gilbert Rohde, is notable for its thoroughly modern, informal, and multifunctional qualities. Rohde’s ability to create appealing modernist furnishings for middle-class homes, while also devising merchandising strategies to sell these goods, places him within a unique framework in American design history. Born and raised in New York, Rohde was the son of a cabinetmaker. He attended New York City public schools and his post-high school education included courses at the Art Students League and the Grand Central School of Art. Rohde’s visit to Europe in the spring and summer of 1927 (with later trips in 1931 and 1937) to see the Bauhaus in Dessau and the French modernist design that debuted in the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, profoundly inspired his concept of design and the role it should play in daily life. The French Art Deco and German rationalist styles he saw in Europe influenced the furniture he designed from the late 1920s into the 1940s, pieces he created to suit a rapidly changing American lifestyle. In addition to his work for Herman Miller Inc., Rohde also designed for several other furniture firms, including Thonet, Troy Sunshade, and Heywood-Wakefield. What set Rohde apart from his contemporaries was his all-encompassing understanding of the furniture industry, from design and production to marketing and showroom display.[1] During his time with Herman Miller Inc. (1932-1944), Rohde set the standard for collaborative efforts between designers and furniture firms, with George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames later...

Bookcase with drop-front secretary desk and storage drawers in paldao wood. Glass dividers separate storage compartments, and cork-lined back. Retains Herman Miller tag. Great origin...

1950s Gilbert Rohde shelving unit with black interior and clean lines. Shelf unit height can be adjusted.