Mid-Century Modern Walnut and Black Leather Desk by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
View Similar Items
Mid-Century Modern Walnut and Black Leather Desk by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
About the Item
- Creator:Dunbar Furniture (Maker),Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.25 in (74.3 cm)Width: 50.25 in (127.64 cm)Depth: 24.5 in (62.23 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU793411592801
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 Furniture
Revered for its handcrafted and highly collectible mid-century modern sofas, coffee tables and other furnishings, Dunbar Furniture was founded in 1910 in Berne, Indiana, but it didn’t gain widespread recognition until the ’30s, following the introduction of its president to a designer who would leave an indelible mark on the company’s legacy: Edward Wormley.
After a stint at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Oswego, Illinois-born Wormley worked as an interior designer for Marshall Field’s before joining Dunbar in 1931. Initially focused on developing the company’s cheapest furniture line, which could be bought with soap coupons, he was soon leading Dunbar Furniture into a new era of residential furniture for modern American homes. He would serve as the company’s design director for over three decades, designing about 150 pieces each year.
During that time, he oversaw the production of designs in a wide range of materials, with influences ranging from Scandinavian modernism to Art Deco. There were modern upholstery pieces, like swiveling lounge chairs and low-slung sofas, and experiments with textural wood on bar carts and cabinets as well as minimal, sculptural tables and functional office furniture. A passionate collector of Tiffany Studios lamps, Wormley used their glass tiles in Dunbar tables in 1956. He also worked on the reproduction of pieces by designers such as Jean-Michel Frank and Richard Riemerschmid.
One standout Dunbar Furniture collection was Janus, introduced in the 1960s, with Austrian-born ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler. These pieces see the Natzlers’ uniquely artful ceramic tiles set into several styles of wooden tables. They remain some of the most sought-after mid-century modern Dunbar pieces on the vintage market today. During the peak of his design career and, indeed, the height of Dunbar Furniture’s history, Wormley amassed a whopping 30 Good Design awards between 1950 and 1955 through the “Good Design” exhibition, hosted by the Chicago Merchandise Mart and the Museum of Modern Art. Dunbar today produces a limited selection of archival Wormley designs, but many sales of original Dunbar pieces are through the resale market.
Find a collection of authentic vintage Dunbar Furniture today on 1stDibs.
- Mid-Century Hand-Rubbed Walnut Drop Leaf Bar Cart by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYThis Mid-Century Modernist Walnut Drop Leaf Bar Cart was created by the illustrious designer Edward Wormley for Dunbar originating from the United States, Circa 1950. Featuring a lov...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Serving Tables
MaterialsGlass, Walnut
- Mid-Century Modern Trapezoidal Walnut Side Table with Brass Sabots by DunbarBy Dunbar FurnitureLocated in New York, NYDesigned by Dunbar and handcrafted in Berne, Indiana, this elegant side table was realized in the United States circa 1950. Featuring a hand rubbed walnut trapezoidal top and ebonize...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Brass, Black Leather & Glass Cocktail TableLocated in New York, NYThis elegant Mid-Century Modern cocktail table was realized in Denmark during the latter half of the 20th century. It features a rectangular body with rectilinear black leather suppo...Category
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Mid-Century Modern Tile, Lacquered Linen & Walnut Cocktail Table by Gordon MartzLocated in New York, NYThis sophisticated Mid-Century Modern two-tier cocktail table was realized by the esteemed pair of Mid Century Modern designers Jane and Gordon Martz in the United States, circa 1960...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut, Linen, Ceramic
- Mid-Century Modern Two-Drawer Cocktail Table in Walnut and Brass, Harvey ProbberBy Harvey ProbberLocated in New York, NYThis elegant and refined cocktail table was designed by Harvey Probber and handmade in Fall River, Massachusetts circa 1960. Probber believed that "aging gracefully" represented the ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Mid-Century Modern Ebonized Burled Walnut & Channeled Chrome Occasional TableLocated in New York, NYThis stunning Mid-Century Modernist table in burled bookmatched and ebonized walnut was realized by in the United States circa 1970. It features beveled corners with triangular chrom...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Mid-Century Executive Walnut Desk by Edward J. Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in North Hollywood, CAWonderful mid-century executive walnut desk designed by Edward J. Wormley for Dunbar in the United States, circa 1950s. This desk is made with a timeless design that has been profess...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Rosewood and Mahogany Receptionist Desk by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, circa 1960By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis spectacular fully restored and sought-after model #452 'Roll Top' desk was designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar and features beautifully grained Rosewood and Ebonized Mahogany, designed and made in the 1960s. Most examples of this design are regular desk height however this example was custom made to be a receptionist desk...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMahogany, Rosewood
$6,900 Sale Price37% Off - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Walnut Writing Desk, RefinishedBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in South Bend, INAn exceptional Mid-Century Modern writing desk By Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture USA, 1950s Patchwork bleached walnut top, with solid walnut legs and brass-capped feet....Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Floating Edward Wormley for Dunbar Executive Extending Desks, 1970sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Antwerp, BEA rare and sleek Mid-Century Modern executive desks by Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture. The desks features stunning solid walnut grain and sleek midcentury design. The desk is fi...Category
Vintage 1970s British Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsNutwood
$4,375 Sale Price20% Off - Partners Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA mahogany partners desk with original leather top and base and brass hardware. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Desks
MaterialsMahogany
- Mahogany Writing Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn octagonal mahogany writing desk designed by Edward Wormley with a single drawer. Made by Dunbar in the USA, circa 1957.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMahogany, Walnut
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Kaleidoscopic Upholstery Makes This Edward Wormley Chair a Showstopper
What at first glance seems an unusual choice jibes perfectly with the designer's aesthetic.
20th-Century Design Shines at the High Style Deco Auction
New York furniture dealer Howard Williams not only has an eye for top-notch pieces from a range of eras but also meticulously restores them to their original glory.