Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale, in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century designers caught the spirit.
Classically-oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb — who designed holistic groups of sleek, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Oak
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Brass
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Walnut
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Mahogany, Maple
1960s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Teak
1940s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Bentwood
1950s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Teak
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Wood
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Rosewood
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Brass
1970s Swiss Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Cherry
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Brass
1960s Belgian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Metal
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Brass
1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Birch
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Birch
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Teak
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Aluminum
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Beech
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Oak
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Brass, Steel
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Rosewood
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Walnut, Burl
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Oak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Teak
1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Metal
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Walnut
1960s Scandinavian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Wood
1930s British Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Walnut, Wood
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Teak
1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Metal
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Brass, Steel
1970s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Walnut
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Wood, Oak
1970s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Teak
1980s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Mahogany
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Glass, Teak
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Teak
1960s Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Teak
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Maple
1960s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Metal
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Brass
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Oak
1960s Swedish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Wood
1960s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Oak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Teak
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Teak
1970s Czech Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Mahogany
1950s Dutch Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Steel
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Glass, Birch
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Mahogany, Sycamore
1960s Danish Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Glass, Teak
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Glass, Wood, Lacquer
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Goatskin, Walnut