Dunbar Round Occasional Tables by Edward Wormley in Stainless Steel Mid-Century
View Similar Items
Dunbar Round Occasional Tables by Edward Wormley in Stainless Steel Mid-Century
About the Item
- Creator:Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer),Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 25 in (63.5 cm)Diameter: 30 in (76.2 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1957
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. These tables have gone through an extensive restoration.
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: AJM1stDibs: LU1273227105092
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 vintage seating, storage cabinets, bar carts and other 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.
- Dunbar Round Occasional Tables by Edward Wormley in Stainless Steel MidcenturyBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Philadelphia, PAA pair of exceptionally rare and unusual round occasional tables in walnut and rosewood with Micarta tops and stainless steel structure. Tables with a single drawer and rosewood feet...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Pair of Mid-Century Modern "A" Chairs Attributed to Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Philadelphia, PAAn exquisite matching pair of "A" chairs designed by Edward Wormley and produced by Dunbar circa 1950s. These chairs were newly lacquered in jet black and the seats are freshly reuph...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBrass
- Party Sofa in Original Jack Lenor Larson Fabric by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Philadelphia, PAA Classic Dunbar sofa by Edward Wormley that has been ensconced in plastic since leaving the showroom. Thereby preserving the spectacular and timeless fabric of Jack Lenor Larson...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery
- Restored Edward Wormley Dunbar Walnut & Leather 8-Drawer Dresser or CabinetBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis dresser was designed by decorated design icon Edward Wormly for equally revered manufacturer Dunbar Furniture. Known for hundreds of successful designs and exceptional quality, ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Pair of Matching Club Chairs in the Manner of Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Philadelphia, PAA great pair of club chairs from the late 1960s in the style of Edward Wormley. Upholstery has some light soiling and can be reupholstered at $600 per chair (buyer supplies fabric).Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Restored Edward Wormley Dunbar White Enamel Walnut Leather Cabinet Dresser 1950sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Philadelphia, PAA stunning large double dresser in restored white enamel case, with warmly contrasting figured and book-matched walnut drawer fronts, having brown leather wrapped handles. This well-...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsEnamel
- Mid-Century Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture Occasional TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Forney, TXA beautiful mid-century custom ordered occasional table, model 426A, designed by Edward Wormley (American, 1907-1995) for Dunbar Furniture; Berne, Indiana. The two-tier Modernist...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Occasional Wedge Table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, C. 1950sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Westport, CTThe rarely found Wedge end table designed by Edward Wormely for Dunbar, circa 1950-1959. Executed in walnut, features leather-wrapped feet. completely ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Round Travertine Side TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar mid-century round travertine side table. This table measures: 16 wide x 16 deep x 21.5 inches high. All pie...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsTravertine
- Vintage Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture Occasional TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Forney, TXA beautiful and fine American Mid-Century custom ordered side table, model 426A, designed by Edward Wormley (American, 1907-1995) for Dunbar Furniture; Berne, Indiana. Circa 1950-196...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Mid-Century Edward Wormley Side Table by Dunbar FurnitureBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stylish midcentury end-table adds a splash of vintage elegance with a rich mahogany finish and Parson's style legs. Designed by Edward Wormley and manufactured in Berne Indiana ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsWood
$1,400 Sale Price30% Off - Edward Wormley End Table by DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Highland, INA beautifully detailed table with great proportions, this Ed Wormley end table by Dunbar features a walnut case and shelf supported by mahogany leg...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsBrass