Elegant 1950s Detailed Widdicomb Side Table in Walnut
View Similar Items
Elegant 1950s Detailed Widdicomb Side Table in Walnut
About the Item
- Creator:Widdicomb Furniture Co. (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)Width: 21.5 in (54.61 cm)Depth: 21.5 in (54.61 cm)
- Style:Hollywood Regency (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very Good Condition.
- Seller Location:Miami, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: 14060583011363
Widdicomb Furniture Co.
Admirers of vintage mid-century modern furnishings likely recognize the Widdicomb Furniture Company name for the fruitful partnerships it forged with iconic designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and Mario Buatta. But there is more to the Widdicomb story than the albeit quite covetable sofas and bedroom furniture it produced during the middle of the 20th century.
A wealth of pine and oak forests rendered Grand Rapids, Michigan, a logging center during the 1800s, and it eventually gained recognition for its furniture industry. The American city became a destination for furniture makers who hailed from across the United States and beyond. Furniture maker George Widdicomb emigrated from England to the United States in 1845, eventually setting up a cabinet shop in Syracuse, New York, before moving west to Grand Rapids. There, he opened a shop with his four sons, including John Widdicomb, whose name would help carry the family legacy into the 20th century.
The Widdicomb shop in Grand Rapids prospered, as the patriarch’s formal English training allowed him to produce pieces with superior craftsmanship compared to those of his competitors. Although the Civil War halted business and took the life of one of the Widdicomb brothers, the family’s survivors would start anew as Widdicomb Brothers and Richards, soon renamed the Widdicomb Furniture Company.
John Widdicomb, however, split from the family business in 1897 to create the John Widdicomb Company, where he would go on to focus on Louis XV- and French Provincial-style furnishings. Chairs made in these styles have distinct characteristics, such as floral motifs carved in the frames and gently angled backrests. John's company also remained a family affair: The founder’s son, Harry, assumed control of the company when his father died in 1910, while John's nephew Ralph Widdicombe — who retained the English spelling of his last name and joined the John Widdicomb Company at its start — designed every single piece of the offerings at his uncle's manufacturing outfit until he retired in 1951. Ralph was an internationally distinguished furniture designer whose modern mahogany bedroom suite won first prize at the Paris Exposition in 1900.
The original iteration of Widdicomb, which was helmed by John's older brother William while John ran his own brand, had shifted from making period revival styles of furniture, such as Georgian and Chippendale, to manufacturing modern pieces in the late 1920s. Today vintage Widdicomb seating, tables and other pieces produced during the postwar years are particularly sought after by collectors of mid-20th-century furniture.
In 1959, master woodworker George Nakashima created his Origins collection for Widdicomb when the firm merged with Mueller Furniture Corporation and was known, for around 10 years, as Widdicomb-Mueller. Origins, a revered Shaker-influenced group of nightstands, upholstered lounge chairs, dining-room tables and more, saw Nakashima working with woods like Carpathian elm and laurel in his Pennsylvania studio.
Eventually, the two Widdicomb companies would combine in 1970, operating under the name John Widdicomb Co.
In 2002, the business closed after more than a century of operations, and its assets were acquired by Stickley Furniture. Interestingly, it was not the first time Widdicomb and Stickley overlapped: In the final years of the 19th century, the companies opened a shared storehouse in London, while John Widdicomb and Albert Stickley would travel Europe together for the purposes of research.
Find vintage Widdicomb coffee tables, case pieces, dining chairs and more on 1stDibs.
- Modern Deco 1940s Edward Stoll Cerused Oak, Glass and Leatherette Side TableBy Edward StollLocated in Miami, FLBeautiful late Streamline Moderne Edward Stoll designed table with 1/2 inch glass top over a pedestal of cerused oak and side panels of quilted green leatherette, a tropical leaf mot...Category
Vintage 1940s American Streamlined Moderne Side Tables
MaterialsOak
$1,800 Sale Price28% Off - 1950s Hollywood Regency Higgins Style General Electric Wall ClockBy Michael and Frances Higgins, General ElectricLocated in Miami, FLModern and sophisticated, this Hollywood Regency and Higgins era glass bodied wall clock by General Electric has many decorative hallmarks starting with an undulating shape with gilt...Category
Vintage 1950s American Hollywood Regency Wall Clocks
MaterialsMetal
$500 Sale Price41% Off - Mid Century Modern F.A.I.P. Plaster Table Lamp Stylized Seating Lady 1950sBy F. A. I. P.Located in Miami, FLMid Century Modern small plaster or chalkware table lamp of stylized seated Lady in pink from the 1950s. The white partial body front and hair with pi...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- 1950s Multi-Color Fused Glass Pendant in the Style of HigginsBy Francis HigginsLocated in Miami, FLREDUCED FROM $1,200....With a classic Tiffany shape, this multicolored fused glass chandelier features a crown shaped top, sloping sides and horizontal band in bubbly fused glass wit...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsLead
$960 Sale Price20% Off - Pair of 1950s Modern Neoclassical Style Gilt and Faux Marble Table LampsLocated in Miami, FLFeaturing a double socket cluster, this pair of very elegant table lamps have a stem of gilt tole leaves rising from a column footed neoclassical urn wi...Category
Vintage 1950s Neoclassical Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$1,800 Sale Price / set28% Off - Yasha Heifetz Mid Century Modern Sculptural Table Lamp Oak-Copper-String 1950sBy Yasha HeifetzLocated in Miami, FLMid Century Modern striking creation table lamp designed by Yasha Heifetz in the 1950s. Consisting of a cerused Oak body with a swirling copper band flowing around the wood and str...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCopper
- Coffee Table T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb in Wood, 1950sBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Milano, ITAmerican designed coffee table by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for the Widdicomb manufacture from the 1950s. The coffee table is made of walnut wood and under the base of the top there is...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Side Coffee Table, Walnut Wood Brass Glass, 1950sBy Josef Frank, Oswald HaerdtlLocated in Hausmannstätten, ATA high quality and handmade side or coffee table manufactured in Austria in midcentury, circa 1950. It is made of warm toned walnut wood, a glass top, a shelf made of thin patinated...Category
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Side or Coffee TableBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Los Angeles, CAT.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb side or coffee table in black mahogany.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMahogany
- Italian Coffee Table in Walnut, Restored 1950sLocated in Milano, ITElegant coffee table made in Italy, 1950s. The coffee table is totally made of a beautiful walnut wood. The table has 4 feet with a beautiful curl in the feet. The top is made of w...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Walnut Triangular Coffee Table, Newly RefinishedBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous mid-century modern sculpted walnut triangular coffee table or occasional side table By T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb USA, 1950s Measures: 36" W x 32.5" D x...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Klismos Leg Side or Cocktail TableBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Dallas, TXMid-Century Modern walnut klismos leg coffee table or cocktail table designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb furniture. Elegant and graceful square top with a two-tier desig...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood
$2,000 Sale Price20% Off