Makers / Basic WitzBy maker1 available, 2 found

Basic Witz

Basic-Witz Furniture Industries made bedroom and dining room furniture in Waynesboro, Virginia, with a second plant in nearby Staunton. It is best known today for walnut dressers and highboys of the 1960s, and was sold to Stanley Furniture in 1974.

1 available now, 1 in the archive

Basic Witz highboy dresser in a honey-toned wood with four upper drawers, sculptural lower drawer fronts and tapered legs, on a white backgroundBasic Witz tallboy dresser with three small top drawers over a grid of drawer fronts framed by dark vertical strips, on a white background

The timeline

Where
Waynesboro, Virginia
Through Forma
2 pieces
  1. 1889

    A 1940 article in the trade magazine Furniture World says the business started in a small way in 1889.[1][2]

  2. 1940

    The same article describes modern factories in Waynesboro and Staunton making modern and eighteenth-century bedroom and dining room furniture, desks and secretaries.[1]

  3. 1955

    A buyer's solid mahogany bedroom set carries a tag reading Basic-Witz Furniture Industries Inc., Waynesboro, Virginia, according to a reader's letter answered in the Kovels' column.[8]

  4. 1965

    Mohasco Industries becomes the company's parent, according to a 1974 report of the sale. A Raleigh newspaper that year features beds from the Basic-Witz Concerto 75 grouping.[4][9]

  5. 1974

    In January, Mohasco sells the assets of Basic-Witz to Stanley Furniture; the business is still headquartered in Waynesboro, with a plant in Staunton.[3][4]

Available now

(01)

What they made

Basic-Witz made case furniture for the bedroom and dining room. In 1940 it was producing both modern and eighteenth-century styles, along with desks and secretaries. Furniture from the 1950s turns up in mahogany: a 1955 bedroom set in solid mahogany, and a blond mahogany dinette suite with table, china cabinet and chairs advertised in 1960.

The pieces most sought today are its modern bedroom case pieces of the 1960s and early 1970s: walnut dressers, highboys, chests and nightstands with sculpted or recessed drawer fronts, some with brass-lined pulls and some with laminate tops. The company also kept making traditional groups, such as the French-style Biarritz bedroom offered in 1973.[1][6]–[8][10][11]

Lines and collections

(02)

Concerto 75

1965

A bedroom grouping shown in a 1965 Raleigh furniture-festival feature, including a tall four-poster canopy bed and a bed for a boy's room designed to be used as bunk or trundle beds.[9]

Biarritz

1973

A French-style bedroom group advertised in 1973 with a 74-inch dresser, mirror, nightstand and headboard in a brown wheat finish.[10]

From the archive

(01)

About Basic Witz

Basic-Witz Furniture Industries was a furniture manufacturer based in Waynesboro, Virginia, with a second factory in nearby Staunton. A 1940 article in the trade magazine Furniture World said the company had begun in a small way in 1889 and was then making bedroom and dining room furniture in modern and eighteenth-century styles, along with desks and secretaries. In the 1960s and early 1970s it made modern bedroom case pieces such as dressers and highboys, many in walnut, with details like sculpted drawer fronts and brass-lined pulls. Today the company is known mainly for these mid-century pieces. In January 1974 Stanley Furniture bought the business, which was still based in Waynesboro.[1]–[7]

Common questions

Where was Basic-Witz furniture made?

In Waynesboro, Virginia, where the company had its headquarters, and at a second plant in nearby Staunton. A 1974 report also mentions a plant at Stuarts Draft.[1]–[3][6]

What happened to Basic-Witz furniture?

Stanley Furniture, another Virginia maker, bought the company's assets in January 1974. A report of the sale says Mohasco Industries had owned Basic-Witz since 1965.[3][4][8]

How do I know if a dresser is Basic-Witz?

Open the drawers and look for a stamp or tag with the Basic-Witz name and Waynesboro, Virginia, often in the top drawer. For an unmarked 1960s dresser, compare the drawer fronts and pulls with documented pieces: brass-lined pulls, outlined drawer patterns and lipped drawers are recurring Basic-Witz details.[1][6][8]

What wood is Basic-Witz furniture?

It depends on the decade. Furniture from the 1950s is often mahogany, including solid mahogany and blond mahogany finishes, while the modern dressers and highboys of the 1960s are mostly walnut, some with laminate tops.[1][7][8][11]

Is Basic-Witz furniture valuable?

The Kovels' column answered a reader in 2010 that the price of a Basic-Witz bedroom set depends on its design, condition and quality, and that buyers also have to be willing to move heavy pieces. The 1960s walnut modern pieces are the part of the company's output that collectors look for today.[1][2][8]

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Looking for a piece by Basic Witz? Tell Kate what you need, with the size and budget you have in mind, and she will look for one. Or write to hello@formanashville.com.

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