Dunbar Credenza in Brazilian Rosewood & English Oak, See Photos, Stunning, Signed
View Similar Items
Dunbar Credenza in Brazilian Rosewood & English Oak, See Photos, Stunning, Signed
About the Item
- Creator:Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer),Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 27 in (68.58 cm)Width: 80 in (203.2 cm)Depth: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Refinished. Expertly refinished. This could not be more beautidul.
- Seller Location:Kansas City, MO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1057030634962
Edward Wormley
As the longtime director of design for the Dunbar furniture company, Edward Wormley was, along with such peers as George Nelson at Herman Miller Inc., and Florence Knoll of Knoll Inc., one of the leading forces in bringing modern design into American homes in the mid-20th century. Not an axiomatic modernist, Wormley deeply appreciated traditional design, and consequently his work has an understated warmth and a timeless quality that sets it apart from other furnishings of the era.
Wormley was born in rural Illinois and as a teenager took correspondence courses from the New York School of Interior Design. He later attended the Art Institute of Chicago but ran out of money for tuition before he could graduate. Marshall Field hired Wormley in 1930 to design a line of reproduction 18th-century English furniture; the following year he was hired by the Indiana-based Dunbar, where he quickly distinguished himself. It was a good match.
Dunbar was an unusual firm: it did not use automated production systems; its pieces were mostly hand-constructed. For his part, Wormley did not use metal as a major component of furniture; he liked craft elements such as caned seatbacks, tambour drawers, or the woven-wood cabinet fronts seen on his Model 5666 sideboard of 1956. He designed two lines for Dunbar each year — one traditional, one modern — until 1944, by which time the contemporary pieces had become the clear best sellers.
Many of Wormley’s signature pieces — chairs, sofas, tables and more — are modern interpretations of traditional forms. His 1946 Riemerschmid Chair — an example is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art — recapitulates a late 19th-century German design. The long, slender finials of his Model 5580 dining chairs are based on those of Louis XVI chairs; his Listen-to-Me Chaise (1948) has a gentle Rococo curve; the “Precedent” line that Wormley designed for Drexel Furniture in 1947 is a simplified, pared-down take on muscular Georgian furniture. But he could invent new forms, as his Magazine table of 1953, with its bent wood pockets, and his tiered Magazine Tree (1947), both show. And Wormley kept his eye on design currents, creating a series of tables with tops that incorporate tiles and roundels by the great modern ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler.
As the vintage items on 1stDibs demonstrate, Edward Wormley conceived of a subdued sort of modernism, designing furniture that fits into any decorating scheme and does not shout for attention.
Dunbar Furniture
Revered for its handcrafted and highly collectible mid-century modern sofas, coffee tables and other furnishings, Dunbar Furniture was founded in 1910 in Berne, Indiana, but it didn’t gain widespread recognition until the ’30s, following the introduction of its president to a designer who would leave an indelible mark on the company’s legacy: Edward Wormley.
After a stint at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Oswego, Illinois-born Wormley worked as an interior designer for Marshall Field’s before joining Dunbar in 1931. Initially focused on developing the company’s cheapest furniture line, which could be bought with soap coupons, he was soon leading Dunbar Furniture into a new era of residential furniture for modern American homes. He would serve as the company’s design director for over three decades, designing about 150 pieces each year.
During that time, he oversaw the production of designs in a wide range of materials, with influences ranging from Scandinavian modernism to Art Deco. There were modern upholstery pieces, like swiveling lounge chairs and low-slung sofas, and experiments with textural wood on bar carts and cabinets as well as minimal, sculptural tables and functional office furniture. A passionate collector of Tiffany Studios lamps, Wormley used their glass tiles in Dunbar tables in 1956. He also worked on the reproduction of pieces by designers such as Jean-Michel Frank and Richard Riemerschmid.
One standout Dunbar Furniture collection was Janus, introduced in the 1960s, with Austrian-born ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler. These pieces see the Natzlers’ uniquely artful ceramic tiles set into several styles of wooden tables. They remain some of the most sought-after mid-century modern Dunbar pieces on the vintage market today. During the peak of his design career and, indeed, the height of Dunbar Furniture’s history, Wormley amassed a whopping 30 Good Design awards between 1950 and 1955 through the “Good Design” exhibition, hosted by the Chicago Merchandise Mart and the Museum of Modern Art. Dunbar today produces a limited selection of archival Wormley designs, but many sales of original Dunbar pieces are through the resale market.
Find a collection of authentic vintage Dunbar Furniture today on 1stDibs.
- Woven Front Cabinet by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, Expertly RestoredBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Kansas City, MOMahogany storage cabinet with woven sliding doors and drawers designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. The two sliding doors have fronts woven with thin pieces of mahogany and nickel p...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsNickel
- Table Top Jewelry Chest, Walnut, Brass Pulls Edward Wormley for Dunbar, SignedBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Kansas City, MORare table top jewelry case / cabinet designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Signed with the brass Dunbar metal tag. Walnut case and brass pulls. Two drawers...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsBrass
- Wall-Mounted Rosewood Cabinets by Florence Knoll, Excellent Condition, PairBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Kansas City, MOTwo rosewood wall mount storage cabinets or credenzas designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll. Early production in Brazilian rosewood with whit...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsLeather, Rosewood, Wood
- Dunbar Cabinet in Burl, Brass Mahogany and Yellow / Gold Lamartine MarbleBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Kansas City, MORare Dunbar cabinet designed by Edward Wormley with burl wood case, mahogany frame and legs with gold / yellow Lamartine Marble top. The two doors lock with the original key and open...Category
Vintage 1950s American Hollywood Regency Cabinets
MaterialsMarble, Brass
- Dunbar Cabinet, Mahogany and Brass, Four Doors, One Drawer, ExcellentBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Kansas City, MOStorage chest or cabinet designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Expertly refinished mahogany case with solid brass hardware. Two wide center drawers reveal an adjustable shelf. Two o...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsBrass
- Rosewood and Polished Aluminum Desk by Roger Sprunger for Dunbar. Restored.By Dunbar Furniture, Roger SprungerLocated in Kansas City, MOBrazilian rosewood and aluminum floating top desk by Roger Sprunger for Dunbar. Three shallow drawers are carved out of the desk top: two side drawers and one wide center drawer. I...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsAluminum
- Two Signed Edward Wormley for Dunbar Ebonized Walnut Woven Front CredenzasBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILTwo signed Edward Wormley for Dunbar ebonized walnut woven front credenzas with brass fittings. One piece is a darker walnut than the other so they are not exactly matching in colora...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut
- Edward Wormley Credenza / Server for Dunbar in Bleached Walnut and BrassBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXBeautiful bleached walnut credenza / server with solid brass hardware designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. The top two drawers contain removable felt-lined silverware trays...Category
Vintage 1950s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley Mahogany and Rosewood Raised Edge CredenzaBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Chicago, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar mahogany cabinet with four large drawers and a center shelved cabinet on plinth base. The pair of ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar CredenzaBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Denton, TXClassic Edward Wormley for Dunbar mahogany credenza with solid brass hardware. Nine drawers with center cabinet.Category
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
$6,000 Sale Price20% Off - Regency Rosewood CredenzaLocated in Essex, MAUnusual form originally having a backboard. With marble top with raised arched ends with bronze wreaths and mask over a long drawer and pair of grill doo...Category
Antique 1820s English Regency Credenzas
MaterialsBronze
- Vintage Rosewood Office CredenzaBy George NakashimaLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stunning large-scale office credenza features beautiful two-tone construction, ample storage space and drawers for added storage. Beautiful rosewo...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsRosewood
$3,780 Sale Price44% Off