- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
Server Bar by Edward Wormley for Dunbar

About
Details
- CreatorDunbar Furniture (Manufacturer),Edward Wormley (Designer)
- DimensionsHeight: 32 in. (81.28 cm)Width: 28 in. (71.12 cm)Depth: 21 in. (53.34 cm)
- StyleMid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacture1954
- ConditionWear consistent with age and use.
- Seller LocationAsbury Park, NJ
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU98491577122
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: Asbury Park, NJ
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
About the Designer
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 Ottomans by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Asbury Park, NJGreat pair of X-base ottomans by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. This was model number 5002 from the 1950s. Vinyl tops with painted black mahogany legs. Purchased from the original owner.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsMahogany
$6,800 / set - English Rosewood Bar Cart and Tables by Heal'sBy Heal'sLocated in Asbury Park, NJA cunning convertible rosewood bar cart with concealed side tables which tuck into either end. The cart features solid rosewood construction and hand-cut joinery and is set atop smoo...Category
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
- Scandinavian Rosewood Cube BarBy Rolf HeslandLocated in Asbury Park, NJRosewood cube bar. This serves as both a bar and coffee table. Bar is on wheels and when opened give you ample storage for items inside as well as a place to sit drinks and bottles. ...Category
Vintage 1970s Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsRosewood
- Arthur Umanoff BarBy Arthur UmanoffLocated in Asbury Park, NJGreat Umanoff bar. This bar has plenty of space on top to mix your drinks as well ample to store glasses and bottle in the back of the bar. There is a metal grid pattern in the front...Category
Vintage 1960s Dry Bars
MaterialsSteel
$2,450 - Rare 'Fiorenza' Lounge by Motomi Kawakami for Alberto BazzaniBy Motomi KawakamiLocated in Asbury Park, NJThis very scarce chair by Motomi Kawakami for Alberto Bazzani is formed of two shells of orange ABS plastic, joined across their width at the lower back and front by a double metal b...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
- Rocking Beauty Designed by Gloria Caranica for Creative PlaythingsBy Creative Playthings, Gloria CaranicaLocated in Asbury Park, NJClassic rocking horse by Creative Playthings. This bentwood birch piece is in nice vintage condition. A great piece to add to your midcentury modern collection.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Toys and Dolls
MaterialsBirch
You May Also Like
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
Burl
Vintage 1950s Dry Bars
Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Mahogany
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Mahogany
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Leather, Oak
Recently Viewed
View MoreThe 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Insured Global Delivery