Heywood Wakefield Mid-Century Modern Highboy Dresser, 1950s
View Similar Items
Heywood Wakefield Mid-Century Modern Highboy Dresser, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 46.25 in (117.48 cm)Width: 34 in (86.36 cm)Depth: 19 in (48.26 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very good original vintage condition. Minor wear from age and use. See photos.
- Seller Location:South Bend, IN
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2745313017442
Heywood-Wakefield Co.
Created by the 19th-century merger of two venerable Massachusetts furniture makers, Heywood-Wakefield was one of the largest and most successful companies of its kind in the United States. In its early decades, the firm thrived by crafting affordable and hugely popular wicker pieces in traditional and historical styles. In the midst of the Great Depression, however, Heywood-Wakefield reinvented itself, creating instead the first modernist furnishings to be widely embraced in American households.
The Heywoods were five brothers from Gardner, Massachusetts, who in 1826 started a business making wooden chairs and tables in their family shed. As their company grew, they moved into the manufacture of furniture with steam-bent wood frames and cane or wicker seats, backs and sides. In 1897, they joined forces with a local rival, the Wakefield Rattan Company, whose founder, Cyrus Wakefield, got his start on the Boston docks buying up lots of discarded rattan, which was used as cushioning material in the holds of cargo ships, and transforming it into furnishings. The conglomerate initially did well with both early American style and woven pieces, but taste began to change at the turn of the 20th century and wicker furniture fell out of fashion. In 1930, the company brought in designer Gilbert Rohde, a champion of the Art Deco style. Before departing in 1932 to lead the Michigan furniture maker Herman Miller, Rohde created well-received sleek, bentwood chairs for Heywood-Wakefield and gave its colonial pieces a touch of Art Deco flair.
Committed to the new style, Heywood-Wakefield commissioned work from an assortment of like-minded designers, including Alfons Bach, W. Joseph Carr, Leo Jiranek and Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, a Russian nobleman who had made his name in Europe creating elegant automotive body designs.
In 1936, the company introduced its “Streamline Modern” group of furnishings, presenting a look that would define the company’s wares for another 30 years. The buoyantly bright, blond wood — maple initially, later birch — came in finishes such as amber “wheat” and pink-tinted “champagne.” The forms of the pieces, at once light and substantial, with softly contoured edges and little adornment beyond artful drawer pulls and knobs, were featured in lines with names such as “Sculptura,” “Crescendo” and “Coronet.” It was forward-looking, optimistic and built to last — a draw for middle-class buyers in the Baby Boom years.
By the 1960s, Heywood-Wakefield began to be seen as “your parents’ furniture.” The last of the Modern line came out in 1966; the company went bankrupt in 1981. The truly sturdy pieces have weathered the intervening years well, having found a new audience for their blithe and happy sophistication.
Find a collection of vintage Heywood-Wakefield desks, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Leslie Diamond for Conant Ball Mid-Century Modern Solid Birch Dresser, 1950sBy Leslie Diamond, Conant BallLocated in South Bend, INAn exceptional Mid-Century Modern three-drawer solid birch dresser or chest of drawers By Leslie Diamond for Conant Ball, "ModernMates" Collecti...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBirch
- Leslie Diamond for Conant Ball Mid-Century Modern Solid Birch Highboy DresserBy Leslie Diamond, Conant BallLocated in South Bend, INAn exceptional Mid-Century Modern five-drawer solid birch highboy dresser or chest of drawers By Leslie Diamond for Conant Ball USA, 1950s Measu...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBirch
- John Widdicomb French Provincial Louis XV Highboy Dresser, circa 1950sBy John WiddicombLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous French Provincial Louis XV style carved highboy dresser or gentleman's chest By John Widdicomb USA, Circa 1950s Solid carved cherry ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Louis XV Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- American of Martinsville Mid-Century Bleached Mahogany and Brass Highboy DresserBy American of MartinsvilleLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous Mid-Century Modern Hollywood Regency seven-drawer highboy dresser By American of Martinsville USA, Circa 1960s Bleached mahogany, with brass trim and hardware. ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- Nancy Corzine Modern English Walnut Wave Front Highboy DresserBy Nancy CorzineLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous Modern wave front eight-drawer highboy chest of drawers In the manner of Edmond Spence By Nancy Corzine USA, Circa Late 20th Century English walnut in high glo...Category
Late 20th Century American Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
- Paul McCobb Perimeter Group Black Lacquered Highboy Dresser, Newly RefinishedBy Paul McCobb, WinchendonLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous Mid-Century Modern seven-drawer highboy dresser By Paul McCobb for Winchendon Furniture, "Perimeter Group" USA, 1950s Black lacquered solid birch, with original sculpte...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBirch, Rosewood, Lacquer
- 1950s Heywood Wakefield Encore long dresser & mirror art deco mid century modernBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Virginia Beach, VAAn exceptional 1950s, Heywood Wakefield Encore 8 drawer low dresser in a beautiful wheat color. Matching mirror included. Great rounded edges with elongated drawer pulls that span ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMaple
- Mid-Century Modern Walnut Highboy DresserLocated in Brooklyn, NYA beautiful vintage modern highboy dresser that features recessed drawer pulls, tapered legs, and a sleek Minimalist appearance. Please confirm item location (NY or NJ).Category
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
- Mid-Century Modern Walnut Highboy DresserLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis gorgeous vintage modern chest features six hefty drawers with unique metal pulls. Sturdy construction with elegant dark walnut wood grain adding to the midcentury appeal. This u...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMetal
- Heywood Wakefield Sculptra Mid Century Wheat 6 Drawer DresserBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield Sculptra Mid Century Wheat 6 Drawer Dresser This lowboy measures: 56 wide x 19.25 deep x 31.25 inches high All pieces of furniture can be had in what we call rest...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWood
- Mid-Century Modern Blonde Solid Maple 8 Drawer Dresser by Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in BROOKLYN, NYMid-Century Modern Blonde solid Maple 8 Drawer dresser by HEYWOOD WAKEFIELD. Good Vintage Condition clean inside and out. Drawers slide smooth. Very unique mid century and deco desig...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMaple
- Mid-Century Rosewood Highboy DresserLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis vintage highboy dresser offers plenty of storage in a minimal Mid-Century Modern design. Beautiful warm rosewood woodgrain surrounds the p...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsRosewood
