Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Rosewood Roll-Top Desk
View Similar Items
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Rosewood Roll-Top Desk
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 35.25 in (89.54 cm)Width: 74.75 in (189.87 cm)Depth: 28.13 in (71.46 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960's
- Condition:Some normal wear. Will need a key, if you want to lock center drawer.
- Seller Location:Wayne, NJ
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU9454952656
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.
- Pair of Edward J. Wormley Janus Lounge Chairs for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Wayne, NJA set of 2 Edward J. Wormley Janus lounge chairs for Dunbar. If you are in the New Jersey , New York City Metro Area , please contact us with your delivery zipcode, as we may be able...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
$4,125 Sale Price / set25% Off - Arne Vodder Scandinavian Danish Modern Teak Desk Vanity Table Top OrganizerBy Arne VodderLocated in Wayne, NJWonderful aged teak three-drawer organizer. Beautifully crafted, finished on all sides. This can also be for multiple purposes such as used as jewelry , Makeup , flatware chest , Re...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Secretaires
MaterialsTeak
$1,440 Sale Price20% Off - Pair of Aerodynamic 1950's Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs Edward Wormley StyleBy Edward WormleyLocated in Wayne, NJThis is a pair of 1950's Mid-Century Modern lounge chairs that appear to have been reupholstered in the 1970's They are in the Manner of Edward Wormley. Not marked or signed, as they...Category
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsFabric
$2,450 Sale Price / set30% Off - Mid-Century Danish Modern Rosewood Desk Office Side Chair ArmchairLocated in Wayne, NJMid-Century Danish modern rosewood desk office side armchair. If you are in the New Jersey , New York City Metro Area , please contact us with your delivery zip code, as we may be ab...Category
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsOther
$840 Sale Price30% Off - Mid Century Modern Cityscape Fabric Desk Arm Side Chair with Castors Paul EvansBy Paul EvansLocated in Wayne, NJChrome cityscape fabric desk arm side chair with castors by Paul Evans Inc. Has a metallic stripe on fabric. May work well as a vanity chair also, b...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$3,900 Sale Price22% Off - Pair of Erik Buch Buck OD-61 Danish Mid Century Modern Bar Stools RosewoodBy Erik BuchLocated in Wayne, NJPair of Erik Buch Buck OD-61 vintage bar stools rosewood. If you are in the New Jersey , New York City Metro Area , please contact us with your delivery zip code, as we may be able t...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsRosewood
$2,800 Sale Price / set20% Off
- Rosewood Roll Top Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA rosewood tambour roll top desk with brass feet and leather trim. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Desks
- Rosewood and Mahogany Roll-Top Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dorchester, MADesigned in 1957 by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, this handsome mahogany desk features a generous writing surface bookended by two rosewood roll-top doors. Three shallow drawers are tucked below, the center one with small divisions at front. A hinged panel...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture Co. Rosewood and Mahogany Roll Top DeskBy Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYAmerican Mid-Century rosewood and mahogany desk with two tambour roll top outer sections with brass hardware that open to reveal workspace and compartments, with an open central work...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWood
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Walnut and Rosewood Executive DeskBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Walnut and Rosewood Executive Desk This desk measures: 84 wide x 40 deep x 29 high, with a chair clearance of 25 inches All pieces of furnitur...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsRosewood, Walnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar DeskBy Edward WormleyLocated in St.Petersburg, FLA great Edward Wormley Dunbar desk with extension, bentwood handles and rear storage compartment.Category
Vintage 1940s American Desks
MaterialsMahogany
- Edward J Wormley for Dunbar Wooden Wedge Top Pedestal DeskBy Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYAmerican mid-century wooden pedestal desk with four drawers with wooden drawer pulls, a shelf on the right-hand side below the tabletop, and a cabinet to the left with an extendable writing surface concealed within. (EDWARD J WORMLEY FOR DUNBAR...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWood