1960s Kent Coffey Perspecta highboy dresser
About the Item
- Creator:Kent-Coffey (Cabinetmaker)
- Dimensions:Height: 51.75 in (131.45 cm)Width: 42 in (106.68 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Small chips to veneer.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU9431246700342
Kent-Coffey
Established in 1907 by Finley H. Coffey and Dr. A.A. Kent, a contemporary and competitor of furniture makers John Bernhardt and James Broyhill, the Kent-Coffey Manufacturing Company in Lenoir, North Carolina, developed a name for itself by designing and mass-producing durable, affordable and stylish bedroom furniture, dressers, tables and other items.
Consider Kent-Coffey a precursor to IKEA, with sturdy oak and mahogany furniture rather than particleboard structures and an American-design bent rather than a Swedish one. The company's mid-century modern furniture, under the leadership of Finley’s son Harold, took off. A magazine ad from the era for the brand’s Perspecta collection positioned a minimalist bedroom set front and center, with its walnut and rosewood dresser, an elegant nine-drawer piece that rested on tapered legs and featured gorgeous sculptural details carved into its drawer fronts, occupying most of the page’s real estate. The materials for Kent-Coffey furniture were sourced locally, as the company touted its relationship with the Lilly Company in nearby High Points, North Carolina, as a supplier of its mahogany, for example.
In 1964, Kent-Coffey Manufacturing Company was sold to Magnavox (but reportedly operated as a wholly owned subsidiary thereafter), and later, in 1983, the company became part of the furniture branch of the Singer Company (of the sewing-machine fame). Singer shuttered its furniture division in the late 1990s.
Today, as is the case with most of the sophisticated furniture designed in postwar America, work that originated at Kent-Coffey is hard to come by.
Previously owned walnut headboards and vintage bedroom dressers with Formica tops from the company’s Perspecta line and sandalwood continental dressers, for example, are highly valued by collectors. Kent-Coffey’s various mid-century modern lines — such as Goldenaire and Town House — were always clearly branded with identifiers such as drawer markings or stamps on the underside of its coveted end tables.
Find vintage Kent-Coffey case pieces and cabinets, nightstands and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Los Angeles, CA
- Return Policy
More From This Seller
View AllMid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Brass
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Teak
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Bedroom Sets
Teak
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Leather, Birch, Mahogany, Maple
You May Also Like
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Wood
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Rosewood, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Walnut
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Wood
