Pair of T. H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb Ladderback & Woven Rattan Seat Arm
About the Item
- Creator:John Widdicomb (Manufacturer),T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 34 in (86.36 cm)Width: 23.5 in (59.69 cm)Depth: 24 in (60.96 cm)Seat Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950's
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Excellent age appropriate condition.
- Seller Location:West Palm Beach, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5824236460802
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings
British-born designer, interior decorator and author T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings was one of the great American tastemakers in the middle decades of the 20th century. Much like Edward Wormley, Robsjohn-Gibbings was a design classicist by education and inclination, but he would come to create some of the most gracious and livable modern furnishings of the era.
Robsjohn-Gibbings studied architecture at the University of London, then held various jobs that included designing décors for passenger liners and working as the art director of a film studio. In the early 1930s, while employed by the upper-crust interior designer Charles J. Duveen, Robsjohn-Gibbings experienced an epiphany during a visit to the British Museum.
Examining the furniture depicted on ancient Greek ceramics — lithe stools and klismos chairs — he realized that he had found a design touchstone. By 1936, Robsjohn-Gibbings had moved to New York and set up a showroom on Madison Avenue for his modern reinterpretations of Classical Greek designs. Aided by contacts he’d developed while working with Duveen, he quickly established a clientele that included Elizabeth Arden, Doris Duke and Thelma Chrysler Foy.
Through his writings for magazines and books, Robsjohn-Gibbings earned a public following and was established as an urbane arbiter of taste. From 1943 to 1956, he produced an understated line of modernist furnishings for Widdicomb, which included one of the icons of the period: the tiered, biomorphic Mesa coffee table (1951). Robsjohn-Gibbings moved to Athens, Greece, in 1966, and created a new line of antiquity-inspired pieces for the firm Saridis. The series turned out to be his swan song.
Collectors’ interest in Robsjohn-Gibbings was reignited in the 1980s when the 200-plus pieces from his 1936–38 commission for the Bel-Air estate of Los Angeles socialite Hilda Boldt Weber — pared-down neoclassical pieces rendered in blond wood (with the occasional flourish) — came on the market. (Up until then, the collection had remained in the house, despite its having changed hands several times.)
But his work for Widdicomb remains his most widely known, appreciated for its elegance and generous proportions. Robsjohn-Gibbings despised the stern aesthetic associated with his Bauhaus contemporaries, and a keynote of his modernist pieces is that they have no sharp angles. His chair and sofa frames, table legs and even many cabinets feature softly contoured edges. In whatever style he designed, Robsjohn-Gibbings was guided by simplicity and timelessness. He wanted his furniture to be lived with happily.
Find antique T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings coffee tables, dining tables, credenzas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
John Widdicomb
In the Widdicomb family, furniture ran in the blood. Furniture maker George Widdicomb emigrated from England to the United States in 1845, eventually setting up a cabinet shop in Syracuse, New York, before moving west to Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, he opened a shop with his four sons, including John Widdicomb, whose name would help carry the family legacy into the 20th century.
A wealth of pine and oak forests rendered Grand Rapids a logging center during the 1800s, and it eventually gained recognition for its furniture industry. The city became a destination for furniture makers who hailed from across the United States and beyond. The Widdicomb shop in Grand Rapids prospered, as the patriarch’s formal English training allowed him to produce pieces with superior craftsmanship compared to those of his competitors. Although the Civil War halted business and took the life of one of the Widdicomb brothers, the family’s survivors would start anew as Widdicomb Brothers and Richards, soon renamed the Widdicomb Furniture Company.
John Widdicomb, however, split from the family business in 1897 to create the John Widdicomb Company, where he would go on to focus on Louis XV- and French Provincial-style furnishings. Chairs made in these styles have distinct characteristics, such as floral motifs carved in the frames and gently angled backrests. John's company also remained a family affair: The founder’s son, Harry, assumed control of the company when his father died in 1910, while John's nephew Ralph Widdicombe — who retained the English spelling of his last name and joined the John Widdicomb Company at its start — designed every single piece of the offerings at his uncle's manufacturing outfit until he retired in 1951. Ralph was an internationally distinguished furniture designer whose modern mahogany bedroom suite won first prize at the Paris Exposition in 1900.
The original iteration of Widdicomb, which was helmed by John's older brother William while John ran his own brand, had shifted from making period revival styles of furniture, such as Georgian and Chippendale, to manufacturing modern pieces in the late 1920s. Admirers of mid-century modern furnishings likely recognize Widdicomb for the partnerships with iconic designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and Mario Buatta. In 1959, master woodworker George Nakashima created his Origins collection for Widdicomb when the firm merged with Mueller Furniture Corporation and was known, for around 10 years, as Widdicomb-Mueller. Origins, a revered Shaker-influenced group of nightstands, upholstered lounge chairs, dining-room tables and more, saw Nakashima working with woods like Carpathian elm and laurel in his Pennsylvania studio.
Eventually, the two Widdicomb companies would combine in 1970, operating under the name John Widdicomb Co.
In 2002, the business closed after more than a century of operations, and its assets were acquired by Stickley Furniture. Interestingly, it was not the first time Widdicomb and Stickley overlapped: In the final years of the 19th century, the companies opened a shared storehouse in London, while John Widdicomb and Albert Stickley would travel Europe together for the purposes of research.
Today, Stickley continues to produce John Widdicomb Company furniture, including French, Italian, English and Russian reproductions, as well as modern works from the first half of the 20th century.
Find vintage John Widdicomb bedroom furniture, tables, case pieces and more on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: West Palm Beach, FL
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Pair Rene Malaval Radar Arm ChairsBy Rene MalavalLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA pair of vintage metal arm chairs designed by René Malaval for Bloc Metal France. Quite rare to find these chairs with arms. These post-war chairs feature a painted white finish wi...Category
Vintage 1940s French Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Pair of Karl Springer "Regency Armchairs" 1980sBy Karl SpringerLocated in West Palm Beach, FLPair of Karl Springer "Regency Armchairs" from the 1980s. The chairs are heavy polished stainless steel and brass. The cushions have been reupholstered in a green / blue Pierre Frey ...Category
Vintage 1980s American Hollywood Regency Armchairs
MaterialsBrass, Stainless Steel
- Pair of Lamps by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier, 1950sBy Gerald ThurstonLocated in West Palm Beach, FLPair of yellow ceramic lamps by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier from the 1950s. Original fittings, finials and pulls. Rewired with a light gold / tan French silk twist cord. Each lamp...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Bitossi Ceramic Fish Lamps for Raymor, Italy, 1950sBy BitossiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLPair of Bitossi Ceramic Fish Lamps for Raymor, Italy, 1950s. These lamps are hand made and a slight variation in size. Both lamps match hand painted glazed fish patterns. They have b...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- 12 Arm 24 Lights Chrome Gaetano Sciolari ChandelierBy Gaetano SciolariLocated in West Palm Beach, FLMid Century 12 Arm, 24 light Chrome Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari. A unique 12-arm design, with each arm supporting two lights—one on the upper portion and the other on the lower....Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Pair of Karl Springer Pouf Ottomans, 1980sBy Karl SpringerLocated in West Palm Beach, FLPair of Karl Springer pouf ottomans from the 1980s. Feature a polished stainless steel plinth base on four casters. They have been reupholstered in a creamy off white boucle fabric. ...Category
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Pair of T. H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb Arm ChairsBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Kansas City, MOElegant pair of Robsjohn-Gibbings armchairs.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsCane, Mahogany, Upholstery
- Slipper Chair by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for WiddicombBy John Widdicomb, T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Van Nuys, CAA wonderful Robsjohn-Gibbings armchair with carved teak frame and a tufted eggshell white seat for Widdicomb.Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsTeak
- Pair of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Open ArmchairsBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Chicago, ILRestored T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings maple framed open armchairs with new dark chocolate wool upholstery.Category
Vintage 1950s American Armchairs
MaterialsVelvet, Maple
- Pair of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Sleek Lined Armchairs for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Chicago, ILPair of expertly restored sleek lined arm chairs designed by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb. Holland & Sherry wool upholstery in a grey and white very small checker board patt...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
- T.H Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Attributed Lounge Chairs, a PairBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in West Palm Beach, FLPair of T.H Robsjohn-Gibbings attributed lounge chairs. Walnut frames have been refinished and upholstery updated to boucle. The platforms were intentionally left original so as to n...Category
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBouclé, Walnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Dining ChairsBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Philadelphia, PAA complete set of six dining chairs designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb. Two armchairs and four sides. A matching dining table is also available. Upholstery is original ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWood