Drexel Heritage Et Cetera
Vintage 1980s American Chinoiserie Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century American Chinoiserie End Tables
Metal
Vintage 1980s American Chinoiserie End Tables
Gold, Ormolu
Vintage 1960s American Chinoiserie Desks
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Chinoiserie Console Tables
Wood, Paint
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie Bookcases
Brass
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Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Card Tables and Tea Tables
Lacquer
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Mahogany
Late 20th Century Italian Chinoiserie Secretaires
Wood
Antique Early 19th Century Danish Country Secretaires
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Night Stands
Brass
Antique Early 19th Century English Georgian Secretaires
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Hollywood Regency Night Stands
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie Side Tables
Mahogany
Vintage 1960s American Neoclassical End Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Regency Night Stands
Brass
Early 20th Century Edwardian Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
Late 20th Century American Chippendale Center Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Chinoiserie Wall Mirrors
Mirror
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak, Lacquer
20th Century American Chinoiserie End Tables
Glass, Wood, Giltwood, Lacquer
Antique 19th Century French Gueridon
Marble
Recent Sales
Vintage 1970s Chinoiserie Cabinets
Glass, Hardwood, Lacquer
Vintage 1980s Chinoiserie Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Ash, Lacquer
Mid-20th Century American Other Secretaires
Oak
Late 20th Century American Chinoiserie Secretaires
Brass
Late 20th Century American Chinoiserie Cabinets
Brass
Late 20th Century Chinoiserie Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Chinoiserie Cabinets
Glass, Wood
Late 20th Century American Chinoiserie End Tables
Brass
Vintage 1970s Chinoiserie End Tables
Wood
20th Century American Hollywood Regency Dining Room Tables
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie Sideboards
Glass, Wood, Lacquer
Drexel for sale on 1stDibs
While vintage Drexel Furniture dining tables, dressers and other pieces remain highly desirable for enthusiasts of mid-century modern design, the manufacturer's story actually begins decades before its celebrated postwar-era Declaration line took shape.
In 1903, in the small town of Drexel in the foothills of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, six partners came together to found a company that would become one of the country’s leading furniture producers. The first offerings from Drexel Furniture were simple: a bed, washstand and bureau all crafted from native oakwood, sold as a bedroom suite for $14.50.
One of Drexel’s early innovations was to employ staff designers, something the company initiated in the 1930s. This focus on design, which few other furniture companies were committing to at the time, allowed Drexel to respond to a variety of new and traditional tastes. This included making pieces inspired by historic European furniture, like the popular French Provincial–style Touraine bedroom and dining group that borrowed its curves from Louis XV-era furniture. Others replicated the ornate details of 18th-century chinoiserie or the embellishments of Queen Anne furniture. Always ready to adapt to new customer demands, during World War II, Drexel built a sturdy desk designed especially for General Douglas MacArthur.
In the postwar era, Drexel embraced the clean lines of mid-century modernism with the Declaration collection designed by Stewart MacDougall and Kipp Stewart that featured elegant credenzas and more made in walnut, and the Profile and Projection collections designed with sculptural shapes by John Van Koert. In the 1970s, Drexel introduced high-end furniture in a Mediterranean style.
Drexel changed hands and visions throughout the years. It was managed by one of the original partners — Samuel Huffman — until 1935, at which time his son Robert O. Huffman took over as president. It was then that the company began to expand, with several acquisitions of competitors in the 1950s, including Table Rock Furniture, the Heritage Furniture Co. and more.
With the manufacturer’s success — spurred by its embrace of advertising in home and garden magazines — it opened more factories in both North and South Carolina. By 1957, the company that had started with a factory of 50 workers had 2,300 employees and was selling its furniture nationwide.
Drexel underwent a series of name changes in its long history. Its acquisition of Southern Desk Company in 1960 bolstered its production of institutional furniture for dormitories, classrooms, churches and laboratories.
In the following decades, contracts with government agencies, hotels, schools and hospitals brought its high-quality furniture to a global audience. U.S. Plywood-Champion Papers bought Drexel Enterprises in 1968, and it became Drexel Heritage Furnishings.
In 2014, the last Drexel Heritage plant, in Morganton, North Carolina, reportedly closed its doors. The company rebranded as Drexel in 2017.
The vintage Drexel furniture for sale on 1stDibs includes end tables designed by Edward Wormley, walnut side tables designed by Kipp Stewart and lots more.
A Close Look at chinoiserie Furniture
Emerging in the 17th century, chinoiserie appropriated the aesthetics and imagery of popular East Asian design for European-made versions. Reflecting the exoticization of China, Japan and other countries in this era, the word directly translates from French to “Chinese-esque,” which reveals its shortcomings as a style of furniture and decor that often stereotypically and reductively mimics Asian culture rather than showcasing and paying tribute to its artistic traditions.
The enthusiastically decorative chinoiserie style was propelled by influential tastemakers including French King Louis XIV, whose Trianon de Porcelaine in 1670 was inspired by Chinese architecture. Expanded trade between the East and West led to a demand for porcelain, lacquer objects, silk and other goods, which further informed the fanciful furniture being crafted in Europe.
Artisans working in the chinoiserie style used materials and elements like pagoda shapes, bamboo, lacquer surfaces, bird and flower motifs and other interpretations of Asian design on pieces that were frequently set against vibrant wallcoverings. This whimsical approach yielded chinoiserie furniture that boasted dramatic flourishes drawing on the natural world and reflected the dominance of Rococo during the 18th century.
As chinoiserie was shaped by approximations of Asian design by European creators, it had regional variations, such as Chinese Chippendale in England where cabinets, chairs and tea tables had wooden fretwork designs and “japanned” surfaces intended to resemble lacquer work that was created in East Asia. In North America, furniture makers in Boston and New York integrated chinoiserie-painted scenes into Queen Anne furniture.
Antique chinoiserie furniture has continued to be fashionable, from its popularity with decorators of the Hollywood Regency era — James Mont, Tommi Parzinger, William Haines and Samuel Marx favored the style — to contemporary interior designers, although it brings with it a complex history.
Find a collection of chinoiserie bedroom furniture, cabinets, decorative objects and more on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 22, 2021Yes, Drexel Furniture makes high-quality furniture in a variety of styles. The company's vintage pieces are highly sought after by collectors. You can find a wide range of Drexel Furniture on 1stDibs.