Early Pair of Étagères by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
View Similar Items
Early Pair of Étagères by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 62 in (157.48 cm)Width: 14.5 in (36.83 cm)Depth: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1940s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Good original condition. Nice overall patina.
- Seller Location:Dallas, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU85181756102
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.
- Dunbar Room Divider by Edward WormleyBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA two piece mahogany room divider with Japanese wood block printers plates. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Cabinets
MaterialsMahogany
- Pair of Armchairs by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA rare pair of ash and rosewood armchairs designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Matching set of four side chairs available separately.Category
Vintage 1950s Armchairs
MaterialsAsh, Rosewood
$6,500 / set - Pair of Armchairs by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA pair of walnut and leather armchairs designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Refinished and reupholstered.Category
Vintage 1950s Armchairs
MaterialsLeather
$5,800 / set - Pair of Tables by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA pair of two tier end tables / nightstands by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s End Tables
MaterialsMahogany
$4,200 / set - Pair of Slipper Chairs by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA pair of slipper chairs with mahogany bases. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Slipper Chairs
MaterialsMahogany
- Pair of Slipper Chairs by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA pair of slipper chairs with mahogany bases. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Slipper Chairs
MaterialsMahogany
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Model 5264 Shelf BookcaseBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar mid-century model 5264 shelf bookcase. This bookcase measures: 48 wide x 14.25 deep x 74.25 inches high. All pieces of furniture can be had in what we...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsWood
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Etagere Shelf – PairBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Etagere Shelf – Pair Each etagere measures: 20 wide x 20 deep x 79 inches high All pieces of furniture can be had in...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsGlass, Wood
- Dunbar Mahogany and Glass Four Shelf EtagereBy Edward WormleyLocated in Brooklyn, NYElegantly curved and tapered open structure in rich, dark stain, with original glass shelves and finish. By Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s American Bookcases
- Cabinet 6026 by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXBeautiful and very elegant cabinet model # 6026 designed by Edward Wormely for Dunbar. This cabinet was purchased for the Neptune Gift Shop in New Jersey in 1963 and is constructed o...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsBrass
- Dunbar Bookcase Wall Units by Edward WormleyBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILPair of bookcases designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, circa 1960. Fully restored. Espresso stained mahogany, glass shelves, and brass details. Glass shelves can be arranged as nee...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsBrass
$9,500 / set - 1970's Edward Wormley for Dunbar Wall Shelving Unit CabinetBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Burbank, CAVintage Mid-century Modern shelf for sale. It was manufactured in the 1970's by Dunbar, and designed by Edward Wormley. It has a lower credenza with cabinets and a drawer and shelves...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsGlass, Burl