Credenza

Designed by Paul McCobb for Winchendon Furniture Company in 1949 - 1964
United States
Model Planner Group H 86cm W 152cm D 46cm
Maple
Labels of authenticity
Product Images

Designer

Paul McCobb

 United States of America (June 5, 1917 - March 10, 1969 )

Paul Winthrop McCobb studied drawing and painting at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston. McCobb came to prominence as a design and decorating consultant for Martin Feinman’s Modernage Furniture in New York City in 1948. While working at Modernage Furniture, McCobb met B.G. Mesberg. Mesberg and McCobb would later be business partners in the Planner and Directional furniture lines. The Planner series has become an emblem of 1950s American furniture.

In 1955, he was married too Mary Frances Rogers. Together they had two children. He taught at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art.

While he became best known for his furniture designs, McCobb also designed radios and televisions for CBS-Columbia and hi-fi consoles for Bell & Howell, along with other household items. His Planner line, manufactured by Winchendon Furniture Company, was among the best-selling contemporary furniture lines of the 1950s and was in continuous production from 1949 until 1964. McCobb’s other well-known furniture lines include Predictor by O’Hearn Furniture, the Calvin Group by Calvin Furniture, Directional by Calvin Furniture, the Irwin Group by Calvin Furniture, and the Connoisseur Collection by H. Sacks and Sons.

Manufacturer

Since the early 1700’s, the Winchendon-Gardner, Massachusetts area has attracted wood workers from around the world. They became famous worldwide for crafting and manufacturing many of the world’s finest home furnishings and have left a legacy of excellence and quality workmanship. Many of the distinctive pieces they have made have been passed down from generation to generation.

Richard E. Ladeau founded today’s Winchendon Furniture in 1939, as Winchendon Custom Upholstery Company, Inc. He developed his skill as an upholsterer while working for his father, George J. Ladeau, at a local furniture manufacturing company upholstering dining room chair seats. When the company needed more space for the upholstery division, Richard rented a small corner in the Winchendon Fashions Building and opened his own company. As his reputation for quality work grew, he established a relationship with prominent, local, independent decorators Arnold Seal in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, and Bowler, Jones and Page in Keene, New Hampshire. Many of their customers had fine antiques that needed re-upholstering and restoration. Consequently, Richard learned to repair and restore their beautiful furnishings and eventually hired skilled craftsmen to keep up with the demand.

As the years passed, it became more difficult to find skilled craftsmen, and the company decided to offer quality brand name furniture, rather than manufacture and restore existing pieces. During the next thirty years, the company made a gradual and complete transition into retail. As a result of this transition, Winchendon Furniture’s space needs grew progressively. We have expanded from a tiny corner of the Winchendon Fashions Building, which is now our warehouse, to the main showroom in Winchendon, Massachusetts.

In 1980, we increased the selection in Winchendon by opening a large showroom in the warehouse building. At that time, we also opened a second store in Amherst, New Hampshire. In 1999, we expanded and renovated the Amherst store to include more showroom space, as well as a new design center. In 2014, we opened our first location in Keene, NH in the Colony Mill building. After several years we had the good fortune to be able to re-locate the Keene showroom to it’s current location at 20 Main St in Keene. Sadly in June of 2019, we closed the Amherst location to concentrate our efforts in Keene, NH and Winchendon.

Since his death in 1972, Richard Ladeau’s sons, Jack and Joe, have been carrying on the family tradition. They have been joined by a third generation, Richard’s grandsons: Keith and Ryan. This continuity in family management has allowed the company to grow to its present stage through new visions by family members and loyal employees. We believe quality and craftsmanship can best be fostered in the intimacy of a small, personal, family company.

Through the years, Winchendon Furniture has maintained a commitment to excellence and value for the successive generations of families we have served. Our customers have an appreciation for fine workmanship for a reasonable price and have returned again and again with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We are thankful for their devotion to our tradition of quality.

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