Edward Wormley Vanity/Desk
Q: I bought this vanity or desk for a few dollars at a garage sale. Part of the top opens up and has a lighted mirror. It’s marked “by Drexel” and has numbers and letters stamped on the bottom. I believe it might be a mid-century modern piece by Edward Wormley. Can you tell me if I’m right?
A: The word stamped on the bottom is “Precedent,” the name of a line designed for Drexel by Edward Wormley in 1947. The numbers stamped on the bottom of the piece are the model number and may also indicate the finish or factory where the piece was made. Edward Wormley (1907-1995) began designing furniture for Dunbar Furniture Co. of Berne, Indiana, in 1931. He worked for the government in Office of Price Administration for two years during World War II and opened his own studio in New York in 1945. “Precedent” is the only line he designed for Drexel. It was made in beechwood, mahogany, and silver elm and included 100 different pieces. Wormly began designing exclusively for Dunbar in 1954. He retired in 1967. The mirror seems to indicate it’s a vanity made for a bedroom.
