Lane Furniture
When the first iteration of the Lane furniture company began to produce its cedar chests in the early 20th century, the family behind the brand was unsure of how successful they’d be, so they didn’t bother adding their name to the offerings.
The manufacturer was off to a modest start but the family was industrious: The Lanes were made up of farmers and contractors who’d built more than 30 miles of the Virginian railroad. They owned a cotton mill and purchased thousands of acres of land in Campbell County, Virginia, where the Virginian railroad was intended to cross the main line of the Southern Railway. The Lanes intended to start a town in this region of the state, and by 1912, streets for the town of Altavista had been laid out and utility lines were installed. In the spring of that year, John Lane purchased a defunct box factory at a bankruptcy auction. His son, Edward Hudson Lane, was tasked with the manufacturing of the cedar “hope” chests for which the Lane family would become known, even though the company was initially incorporated as the Standard Red Cedar Chest Company.
The Standard Red Cedar Chest Company struggled in its early days but introduced an assembly system at its small factory after securing a contract with the federal government to produce ammunition boxes made of pine during World War I. The company prospered and applied mass-production methods to its cedar-chest manufacturing after the war, and, in 1922, rebranding as the Lane Company, it implemented a national advertising campaign to market its products. Ads tied the company’s strong cedar hope chests to romance. Anchored by copy that read “The gift that starts the home,” the campaign rendered a Lane cedar chest a necessary purchase for young women to store linens, clothing and keepsakes as they prepared to marry.
Wartime production during World War II had Lane producing aircraft parts. In the 1950s, the family-owned company began to branch out into manufacturing tables, bedroom pieces and other various furnishings for the entire home. The brand’s vintage mid-century furniture is highly sought after.
Lane’s Acclaim walnut furniture line, which, designed by Andre Bus, has been compared to Drexel’s Declaration series for its blend of modern furniture’s clean contours and traditional craftsmanship. Ads for the Lane series suggested that it included “probably the best-selling table in the world.” (There are end tables, cocktail tables and more in the Acclaim collection, sporting graceful tapered legs and dovetail inlays.) Later, during the 1960s, Lane offered handsome modular wall units designed by the likes of Paul McCobb. Today, the company is owned by United Furniture Industries and is particularly well-known for its upholstered furniture.
Vintage Lane furniture is generally characterized by relatively neutral styles, which are versatile in different kinds of interiors, as well as good quality woods and careful manufacturing. All of these attributes have made Lane one of the most recognizable names in American furniture.
Browse storage cabinets, tables and more from Lane on 1stDibs.
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Walnut
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Brass
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Brass
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Oak, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Brass
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Glass, Wood, Walnut
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Walnut
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Oak, Walnut
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Wood
1970s North American Brutalist Vintage Lane Furniture
Walnut
Late 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Rosewood, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Burl
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Burl
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Walnut
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Ash, Burl
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Burl
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Walnut
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Lane Furniture
Fabric, Walnut
Mid-20th Century North American Chippendale Lane Furniture
Mahogany
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Lane Furniture
Oak, Oak
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Wood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Brass
1970s American Brutalist Vintage Lane Furniture
Oak
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Walnut, Glass
1970s American Minimalist Vintage Lane Furniture
Burl, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American Minimalist Lane Furniture
Maple, Burl
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Walnut, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Wood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Oak
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Chrome
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Cane, Walnut
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Walnut
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Cane, Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Aluminum
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Brass
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Wood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Oak
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Chrome
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Rosewood, Cane, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Marble
Mid-20th Century North American Art Deco Lane Furniture
Burl
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Oak, Walnut
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Wood, Formica
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Lane Furniture
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lane Furniture
Chrome
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Lane Furniture
Oak
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Lane Furniture
Oak