Rare Edward Wormley Custom Mahogany and Natural Rosewood Oval Dining Table
About the Item
- Creator:Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer),Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 72 in (182.88 cm)Depth: 63 in (160.02 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950s
- Condition:Excellent restored condition.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU84195542673
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: Chicago, IL
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Edward Wormley Mahogany and Rosewood Raised Edge CredenzaBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar mahogany cabinet with four large drawers and a center shelved cabinet on plinth base. The pair of ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
- Eight Edward Wormley Mahogany, Leather and Brass Dining ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILSet of eight mahogany wood and apricot leather curved panel back dining chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Set is comprised of two arm chairs and six...Category
Vintage 1950s American Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMahogany, Leather
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Rosewood and walnut Square Coffee TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILClassic design from one of periods giants. Bleached rosewood top and walnut frame, parsons coffee table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar furniture. This piece is timeless. It would easil...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsRosewood, Walnut
- Edward Wormley Bleached Mahogany Corner Table for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Minimalist design bleached mahogany corner table number 4977. Nicely grained woods with open design and expert craftsma...Category
Vintage 1950s American End Tables
MaterialsMahogany
- Edward Wormley Bleached Mahogany Reeded Curule Leg TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILAn uncommon and early Edward Wormley design for Dunbar, this reeded Curule leg end table has a three-sided gallery framed top, three part stretcher connecti...Category
Vintage 1940s American Console Tables
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Walnut and Rosewood Parsons Leg Coffee TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Parsons style coffee table. Exceptional rosewood grained top with clean lined walnut frame. Transitional piece that could work with many design plans. Gold ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsRosewood, Walnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Hexagonal Mahogany and Walnut Dining TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Los Angeles, CAExtremely rare hexagonal dining table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Walnut top with ebonized mahogany border. Comes with two offset grain 16" leaves. Total length 84". The set comes ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWalnut, Mahogany
- Round Dining Table in Brazilian Rosewood by Edward WormleyBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYRound dining table in Brazilian rosewood designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, American, 1960s (Dunbar tag on bottom).Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Rare Edward Wormley for Dunbar Lazy Susan Dining TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Belmont, MALazy Susan dining table with interchangeable laminate spinning top. Warming unit in the middle of the top still functional. Great for fondue parties. Signed with branded Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMahogany
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar MCM Rosewood and Ebonized Oak Expanding Dining TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Rosewood and Ebonized Oak Expanding Dining Table with 2 Leaves This table measures: 66 wide x 44.25 deep x 29.5 inches high, with a chair clear...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsOak, Rosewood
- Dining Table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, Rectangular Bleached MahoganyBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Kansas City, MOMahogany dining table with one leaf designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, 1950s. The table is in very good condition with only light signs of use under close examination. Beautiful ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMahogany
- Expandable Dining Table in Mahogany by Edward Wormley. Expertly RefinishedBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Kansas City, MODining table in two tone mahogany designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. The table starts at 66.25 inches wide and has two 24 inch leaves so at full length it is 9 1/2 feet wide. ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMahogany