Vintage 1950s Modern Walnut and Leather Writing Desk
View Similar Items
Vintage 1950s Modern Walnut and Leather Writing Desk
About the Item
- Creator:Drexel (Manufacturer),John Van Koert (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 56 in (142.24 cm)Depth: 31 in (78.74 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Hudson, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU87913565802
Drexel
While vintage Drexel Furniture dining tables, dressers and other pieces remain highly desirable for enthusiasts of mid-century modern design, the manufacturer's story actually begins decades before its celebrated postwar-era Declaration line took shape.
In 1903, in the small town of Drexel in the foothills of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, six partners came together to found a company that would become one of the country’s leading furniture producers. The first offerings from Drexel Furniture were simple: a bed, washstand and bureau all crafted from native oakwood, sold as a bedroom suite for $14.50.
One of Drexel’s early innovations was to employ staff designers, something the company initiated in the 1930s. This focus on design, which few other furniture companies were committing to at the time, allowed Drexel to respond to a variety of new and traditional tastes. This included making pieces inspired by historic European furniture, like the popular French Provincial–style Touraine bedroom and dining group that borrowed its curves from Louis XV-era furniture. Others replicated the ornate details of 18th-century chinoiserie or the embellishments of Queen Anne furniture. Always ready to adapt to new customer demands, during World War II, Drexel built a sturdy desk designed especially for General Douglas MacArthur.
In the postwar era, Drexel embraced the clean lines of mid-century modernism with the Declaration collection designed by Stewart MacDougall and Kipp Stewart that featured elegant credenzas and more made in walnut, and the Profile and Projection collections designed with sculptural shapes by John Van Koert. In the 1970s, Drexel introduced high-end furniture in a Mediterranean style.
Drexel changed hands and visions throughout the years. It was managed by one of the original partners — Samuel Huffman — until 1935, at which time his son Robert O. Huffman took over as president. It was then that the company began to expand, with several acquisitions of competitors in the 1950s, including Table Rock Furniture, the Heritage Furniture Co. and more. With the manufacturer’s success — spurred by its embrace of advertising in home and garden magazines — it opened more factories in both North and South Carolina. By 1957, the company that had started with a factory of 50 workers had 2,300 employees and was selling its furniture nationwide.
Drexel underwent a series of name changes in its long history. Its acquisition of Southern Desk Company in 1960 bolstered its production of institutional furniture for dormitories, classrooms, churches and laboratories. In the following decades, contracts with government agencies, hotels, schools and hospitals brought its high-quality furniture to a global audience. U.S. Plywood-Champion Papers bought Drexel Enterprises in 1968, and it became Drexel Heritage Furnishings.
In 2014, the last Drexel Heritage plant, in Morganton, North Carolina, reportedly closed its doors. The company rebranded as Drexel in 2017.
The range of vintage Drexel furniture for sale on 1stDibs includes end tables designed by Edward Wormley, walnut side tables designed by Kipp Stewart and lots more.
- 1950s Italian Writing DeskBy Gio PontiLocated in Beverly Hills, CA1950s Italian writing desk in the manner of Gio Ponti Wonderfully constructed of beechwood with original kelly green laminate top. Great hardware...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Desks
MaterialsLaminate, Beech
$6,000 Sale Price36% Off - Vintage Drexel Heritage Modern Oak Writing DeskBy DrexelLocated in Clarksboro, NJThis listing is for a vintage Drexel Heritage Modern Oak Writing Desk. Featuring a straight line modern design, four drawers four storage, rosewood drawer trim and pulls. This is an ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWood, Oak, Rosewood
- John Van Koert for Drexel Profile Mid Century Leather Top Walnut DeskBy John Van Koert, DrexelLocated in Countryside, ILJohn Van Koert for Drexel Profile mid century leather top walnut desk This desk measures: 53.75 wide x 33 deep x 35.5 high, with a chair clearance of 25.5 inches All pieces of ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsChrome
- Vintage Walnut Biedermeier Writing Desk With Leather TopLocated in Locust Valley, NYA vintage walnut Biedermeier writing desk with an embossed leather inlay top. The Biedermeier style, known for its clean lines and simplicity, is elegantly showcased in this writing ...Category
Mid-20th Century Desks
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Mid-Century Modern Vintage Walnut Ash Desk Bureau Secretary, 1950s, ItalyLocated in Vienna, ATMid-Century Modern vintage secretary desk bureau Ico Parisi style from walnut and ash veneers designed and manufactured 1950s Italy. The beauti...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsAsh, Walnut
- Custom 1950s Wall Mounted Modernist Writing DeskLocated in San Diego, CAUnique handmade custom wall-mounted writing desk made in the 1950s. Solid birch construction with patinated brass accents and a smooth black laminate desk surface that folds up when ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks