Restored Edward Wormley Tuxedo Sofa for Dunbar in yellow beige fabric, USA 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer),Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 28.75 in (73 cm)Width: 110.24 in (280 cm)Depth: 33.47 in (85 cm)Seat Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Reupholstered.
- Seller Location:Berlin, DE
- Reference Number:
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Berlin, Germany
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 10 days of delivery.
- Edward Wormley light beige Tuxedo Sofa for Dunbar, USA 1960sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Berlin, DEEdward Wormley Tuxedo sofa for Dunbar, USA 1960s, Labeled. Three-seat sofa with respectively three seat and back cushions. We offer reuphols...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Walnut Side Table USA - 1960sBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Berlin, DEEdward Wormley Dunbar Side Table. Nice inlay and solid Brass support connections. beautifully detailed.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley Lounge Chair with Ottoman by Dunbar, USA 1960sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Berlin, DEEdward Wormley lounge chair with ottoman by Dunbar, USA 1960s Dunbar lounge chair with ottoman. The measurements given apply to the Lounge Chair. The ottoman measures 60cm depth, 60...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Edward Wormley Yellow Lounge Chair for Dunbar, Reupholstery NeededBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Berlin, DEEdward Wormley Lounge Chair for Dunbar that also can be used as is but we recomend a new dress for this very comfy chair. Please ask for quotes. *This piece is curated by Original B...Category
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Adrian Pearsall Green Gondola Sofa for Craft Associates, USA, 1960sBy Craft Associates, Adrian PearsallLocated in Berlin, DEAdrian Pearsall 'Gondola" Sofa for Craft Associates. The Gondola sofa stands out due to its innovative design and unique shape including the sculpted wooden legs and frame. We offer ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Adrian Pearsall 'Gondola Sofa' in Brown Fabric for Craft Associates, USA, 1950sBy Adrian Pearsall, Craft AssociatesLocated in Berlin, DEIconic sofa model 2408 / 'Gondola' sofa by Adrian Pearsall for Craft Associates, 1950s. One of the sofa's distinctive features is its beautiful open structure with a partly open back...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Tuxedo Sofa in Holly Hunt MohairBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA classic clean lined sofa by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. We have updated with Great Plains Mohair by Holly Hunt.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar SofaBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Sofa, early design with great scale, spring seating system, reupholstered and rebuilt reupholstered with wool ...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery
- Gondola Sofa by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, USA, 1950sBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Chicago, ILA Gondola sofa designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar’s Janus Collection in the 1950s. This sculptural sofa features angled arms and a floating back attached to the base with walnut s...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsBrass
- Clean Lined Tuxedo Sofa in the manner of Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Atlanta, GAClean Lined Tuxedo Sofa, in the manner of Edward Wormley for Dunbar, unsigned, American, circa 1960s. This sofa is being completely restored and can be completed in your choice of wo...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Edward Wormley Dunbar Tuxedo Sofa in Great Plains Wool VelvetBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILEdward Wormley Dunbar Tuxedo Sofa in Great Plains, Wool Velvet "Dreamer Marigold" Sofa was stripped down to frame with new foam and reupholstered. Dimensions: 94" length 34" deep 29"...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMohair
- Elegant Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Tuxedo Sofa, ProjectBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in St. Louis, MOElegant mid-century Edward Wormley for Dunbar sofa with skirt, on sculpted mahogany legs. You can't beat the quality of a Dunbar sofa, built to last. ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMahogany, Upholstery
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.
Original in Berlin’s Lars Triesch Has Turned a Passion for Design into a Booming Business
His two gallery spaces in the German capital bring together thousands of pieces ranging from mid-century classics and Murano glass to covetable reproductions manufactured in-house.