Drexel Heritage Entry
Vintage 1980s French Provincial Console Tables
Wood
Vintage 1980s American Georgian Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Mahogany
Vintage 1980s American Chippendale Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Mahogany
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
Vintage 1980s American Chinoiserie End Tables
Gold, Ormolu
Vintage 1980s American Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Walnut
Vintage 1980s American Pedestals
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Art Deco Console Tables
Metal, Silver Leaf
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Wood, Burl
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Walnut
Vintage 1980s American Chinoiserie Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Walnut, Burl
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Smoked Glass, Walnut
Late 20th Century American Chinoiserie End Tables
Metal
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Travertine, Marble
20th Century American Regency Gueridon
Mahogany, Rosewood
Recent Sales
Late 20th Century American Campaign Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Nutwood
Late 20th Century American Campaign Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Nutwood
Late 20th Century American Chippendale Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Mahogany
Vintage 1970s North American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
Lacquer
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
Lacquer
Vintage 1970s North American Campaign Console Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1980s American Hollywood Regency End Tables
Wood
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Wood
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
Late 20th Century American Chippendale Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Wood, Birdseye Maple
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Chrome
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie Console Tables
Mahogany
20th Century American Chinoiserie Console Tables
Wood, Giltwood
Vintage 1980s American Chinoiserie End Tables
Wood
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie Wall Mirrors
Faux Bamboo, Mirror
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Lowboys
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Faux Bamboo, Mirror
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie End Tables
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Brass
Vintage 1960s Grand Tour End Tables
Brass
Late 20th Century Philippine Neoclassical Wall Mirrors
Mirror
Vintage 1980s American Chinoiserie End Tables
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Campaign End Tables
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Hollywood Regency Wall Mirrors
Brass
20th Century American Chinoiserie Console Tables
Wood, Paint
1990s American Hollywood Regency End Tables
Brass
20th Century American Campaign Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Console Tables
Mahogany
20th Century American Chippendale Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Cane, Walnut
Vintage 1980s Louis XV End Tables
Walnut
Late 20th Century American Campaign Console Tables
Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Console Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie Wall Mirrors
Walnut, Mirror
Vintage 1970s Chinoiserie Wall Mirrors
Mirror
Vintage 1980s American Art Deco Wall Mirrors
Brass
Late 20th Century Renaissance Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Fruitwood
Mid-20th Century Hollywood Regency Console Tables
Walnut
Early 20th Century American Chinoiserie Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
Vintage 1970s Chinoiserie End Tables
Wood
Late 20th Century American Chinoiserie End Tables
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Console Tables
Oak
Vintage 1970s American French Provincial Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Walnut
Vintage 1970s Campaign End Tables
Glass, Walnut
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Rosewood
Vintage 1980s American Campaign End Tables
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Campaign End Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Campaign End Tables
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
Wood
Early 2000s American Georgian Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Wood
Late 20th Century American Chippendale Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Mahogany
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Brass
Late 20th Century American Chippendale Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Mahogany
Vintage 1970s American Console Tables
Metal
20th Century American End Tables
Drexel Heritage Entry For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Drexel Heritage Entry?
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 oak wood, 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, 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.
- 1stDibs ExpertSeptember 25, 2024Yes, Drexel Furniture is good quality, and owing to the commendable level of craftsmanship that characterizes the company's work, Drexel's furnishings typically retain or increase in value over time. Vintage Drexel dining tables, dressers and other pieces remain highly desirable for enthusiasts of mid-century modern design.
The North Carolina manufacturer initially became known for pieces inspired by historic European furniture. In the postwar era, Drexel adapted to changing tastes and 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. The Profile and Projection collections of the period, designed with sculptural shapes by John Van Koert, also see demand on today’s secondary market.
Find vintage Drexel Furniture for sale on 1stDibs.