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.
Roger Sprunger for Dunbar Mid Century Mahogany Side Table
By Roger Sprunger, Dunbar Furniture
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Roger Sprunger for Dunbar Mid Century Mahogany Side Table This side table measures: 29 wide x 29 deep x 22.25 inches high Good Vintage Condition. We take our photos in a controlle...
Mahogany
Roger Sprunger for Dunbar Mid Century Mahogany Coffee Table
By Dunbar Furniture, Roger Sprunger
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Roger Sprunger for Dunbar Mid Century Mahogany Coffee Table This coffee table measures: 54.25 wide x 29.25 deep x 17.5 inches high Good Vintage Condition. We take our photos in a ...
Mahogany
Roger Sprunger for Dunbar Mid Century Mahogany and Glass Top Side Table
By Dunbar Furniture, Roger Sprunger
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Roger Sprunger for Dunbar Mid Century Mahogany and Glass Top Side Table This side table measures: 20.75 wide x 20.75 deep x 18.75 inches high Good Vintage Condition. We take our p...
Glass, Mahogany
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Mahogany and Brass Side End Table
By Dunbar Furniture, Edward Wormley
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Mahogany and Brass Side End Table 22 wide x 28 deep x 22.25 high See below for 5 ways to save! FREE RESTORATION: When you purchase a piece ...
Brass
Lane Rhythm Mid Century Square Walnut Side End Table
By Lane Furniture
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Lane Rhythm Mid Century Square Walnut Side End Table This side table measures: 23.5 wide x 23.5 deep x 20.25 inches high Restored - Mint Condit...
Walnut
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Midcentury Side End Table
By Dunbar Furniture, Edward Wormley
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Edward Wormley for Dunbar midcentury Side End Table This side table measures: 21 wide x 21 deep x 22.5 inches high All pieces of furniture can be had in what we call restored v...
Wood
Midcentury Two Level End Table for Dunbar
By Dunbar Furniture
Located in New York, NY
A single end table by Dunbar with square top and a fixed shelf rising on plinth base. USA, circa 1940-1950. Signed with burnished Dunbar name and paper tag to underside. Model #4...
Wood
1940s Edward J. Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Mahogany Bookshelf End Table
By Dunbar Furniture, Edward Wormley
Located in St. Louis, MO
From the 1940s Dunbar Enduring Modern catalog is model # 2193, a single large end table with lower tier bookshelf by Edward J. Wormley. Rounded legs, has divider in center to hold bo...
Mahogany
Dunbar Square Two Tier End Side Table Mid-Century Modern American Walnut
By Dunbar Furniture
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Mid-Century Modern American walnut one drawer side table nighstand by Dunbar.
Walnut
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Three-Tier End Table, Dark Wood, Circa 1955
By Dunbar Furniture, Edward Wormley
Located in Queens, NY
American Mid-Century three-tier dark wooden end table with a rectangular top and two shelves below, with rectangular supports on either side, resting on a pedestal base. (EDWARD WORM...
Wood
Paul McCobb Mid-Century End Table for Dunbar, Dark Stained Wood
By Paul McCobb
Located in Queens, NY
American Mid-Century wooden square end / side table with four square wooden legs with a dark brown stained finish. (PAUL MCCOBB FOR DUNBAR FURNITURE COMPANY) Some wear to finish.
Wood
Edward Wormley End Table, Lacquered Wood, Mid-Century Design, USA
By Edward Wormley
Located in Queens, NY
American Mid-Century square lacquered wooden end / side table with an open shelf below the square top, resting on a solid stepped base that creates as a taller lower shelf. (EDWARD W...
Wood
