A mahogany Hepplewhite Chair - A Country Hepplewhite Design Chair - Georgian Chair

A mahogany Hepplewhite chair of pleasing proportions. The arms show the more restrained curves of the late 18th century although the seat, legs and stretchers are still bold and firm in proportion.
A Country Hepplewhite design chair of a type most frequently found made in elm. Normally they are stained or varnished to look like mahogany, and have been stripped and polished later if now in the natural wood. The

design is known as a camel-back and is a logical development of the town-made mahogany one; simpler in execution and less decorated. The seat is solid and would probably have had a squab cushion on it.
Hepplewhite mahogany shield-back arm and single chair c.1790. The craftsmanship involved in making a successful shield-back chair is of the highest order and to obtain the necessary degree of comfort and stability as well as fine proportion is a task of considerable difficulty. The central baluster of these two fine chairs are joined to the top rail by the ‘Prince of Wales feathers’, a very favourite motif with Hepplewhite and one beingemphasized in his Guide . The shield -backs are edged with a small double beading on the inner and outer edges. The legs on these are not reeded and there is less decoration than that of the preceding example.
Proportion and quality of carving  Structural condition and originality
Fine quality Hepplewhite arm and single chair. Note the leaf carving on the back and round the top rail to finish half way down the uprights. The influence of Robert Adam is evident in these.
A mahogany Hepplewhite chair which suggests a development from a Chippendale design rather than a break from it. The structure is very similar; the front legs are not tapered on the inside edge and the camel-back form of top back rail tempers the outward sweep of the uprights.
Hepplewhite shield-back chair c. 1790. The carving of the back is of particularly fine quality. The tapering legs are reeded and the decoration of brass studs adds further ornamentation. Normally executed in mahogany.
Price Range: considered by many to be a high point in English design, original shield back Hepplewhite chairs fetch very high prices. Those below are an indication:-
A mahogany Hepplewhite chair of pleasing proportions. The arms show the more restrained curves of the late 18th century although the seat, legs and stretchers are still bold and firm in proportion.
A Country Hepplewhite design chair of a type most frequently found made in elm. Normally they are stained or varnished to look like mahogany, and have been stripped and polished later if now in the natural wood. The design is known as a camel-back and is a logical development of the town-made mahogany one; simpler in execution and less decorated. The seat is solid and would probably have had a squab cushion on it.
Hepplewhite mahogany shield-back arm and single chair c. 1790. The craftsmanship involved in making a successful shield-back chair is of the highest order and to obtain the necessary degree of comfort and stability as well as fine proportion is a task of considerable difficulty. The central balusters of these two fine chairs are joined to the top rail by the ‘Prince of Wales feathers’ , a very favourite motif with Hepplewhite and one

being emphasized in his Guide . The shield-backs are edged with a small double beading on the inner and outer edges. The legs on these arenot reeded and there is less decoration than that of the preceding example.
A mahogany chair of c. 1790 of a design also associated with Hepplewhite although some of the conflicting trends of 18th centurydesigns are evident in the square legs and eight pointed wheel effect. It is a fairly simple version of a beautiful design and represents a considerable accomplishment in craftsmanship.
A later Georgian chair of Sheraton influence in the back but with arms more associated with Hepplewhite styles. The tapering front legs and the back are reeded; a mark of quality.
A country version of the two previous Sheraton style chairs. The seats are solid and the back leg and upright very much straighter and rigid, with very little rake. The backs are also simplified; the front stretcher is
placed high between the two front legs as with earlier chairs instead of between the two side stretchers.
Later period Victorian chair in mahogany. Note the heavier, squarer back with over-emphasized corner carving. The cabriole legs and seat rail are also heavily encrusted. The fully upholstered seat gives an appearance of overstuffing and top heaviness.
A chair of design normally associated with the William IV or early Victorian period. This is in fact a Gillows design of 1877 and illustrates the fact that one must be very circumspect about dating Victorian chairs by their design for one finds similar designs being executed over a period of 30 to 40 years. The fully upholstered seat and moulded front rail give a heaviness not present in our rosewood William IV examplebut the back and the turned and fluted front legs could easily be associated with the 1830-40 period.
An unashamed Victorian mahogany chair of which the back owes much to the balloon design of more elegant versions. The uncorseted bulbous front legs are of a kind which have a robust appeal of their own even though most dealers flinch at the sight of them.
A Gillows design of 1884 which owes a good deal to earlier period fashions. The legs are more bulbous and the upholstered seat - not shown in this constructional sketch - would be very full. The chamfered and
grooved inside edge of the back is to lighten the effect of the very broad top rail and uprights. The latter have been ornamented with a small scroll at the join of the top rail in what almost seems an afterthought of
design.

Country Chair of c. 1800 -  Regency Chair - A Regency Period Library Chair - A Gillows Chair - Balloon-Back Victorian Chair in Walnut

A very simplified country chair of c. 1800. The design owes something to Sheraton in the tapering front legs and squared style of the back. The two horizontal rails are very plain and more ornamented versions are to be found. The solid bowed seat is made of elm and the rest of the chair is fruitwood.
Late 18th/Early 19th century oak spindle-back chairs, sometimes called ‘Lancashire’ chairs. They are rush-seated and are sometimes made of elm.
Another very elegant Regency chair with rope twist motif on the back and sabre legs. The caned seat again adds to the overall lightness of design.
A Regency arm and single chair similar to the previous example in ropetwist designbut withdrop inseats insteadof cane. Thepanelbetween the horizontal rails in the back is inlaid with brass.
A similar pair of Regency chairs with reeding continuous down back uprights, sides and sabre legs. The carved decoration is simple and elegant.
A Regency period library chair which converts into a set of steps. These chairs usually attracted a high degree of craftsmanship and are normally in either mahogany or rosewood. The arms and sabre front legs exhibit typical Regency characteristics although there is a hint of William IV in the broad carved top back rail.
Rather a hybrid piece of furniture which was either little made originally or subject to demolition from heavy bibliophiles. Either. way, now becoming rarer and more expensive.
A mahogany Regency chair with lyre motif in the back. The curved side rails and sabre legs are reeded to give a continuous effect. The drop-in seat is located by a peg set in the top of the front rail. As with all sabre-leg chairs the front legs should be examined carefully to seewhether the top has beendamaged; the constructionof a sabre leg necessitates cutting across the grain of the wood thereby reducing the strength of the timber.
It is a sign of quality if there are none of these repairs.
For some reason the lyre causes a rush of blood to the head in chair purchasers; look for inflated values accordingly.
A typical Regency mahogany sabre-leg chair of pleasing proportion and design. Elegant and small, yet comfortable, this type of chair has become understandably very popular since the war of 1939-45. They are also to be found in rosewood, an even heavier and more durable wood which increases their value.
A late Regency or William IV period chair made of mahogany. In the heavy curl of the arms and the fluted front legs the approach of the Victorian era is foretold. The bold, wide, outward-pointing top rail is typical of the 1830-40 decade. Look out for conversion front legs i. e. the original turned and fluted ones are sometimes removed ana replaced by sabre legs to increase value.
Typical late Regency-cum-William IV rosewood single chair. The front legs are octagonal in section and the design has become heavier. The drop-in seat is still light in character however and the classical influence still evident.
A Gillows chair of 1841 made for Colonel Cradock. The back shows a stage in design which precedes the balloon back, while the heavily turned and reeled legs of the period have been replaced by finely made and
decorated cabriole legs. The seat rail has moved away from the Straight Regency design, and the total appearance is much lighter than the sub-classical designs of the 1820-40’s. The top rail is undecided as to whether it is to follow the downward curve of the preceding example or to strike out into the new balloon shape. The French influence is also evident in the decorative effects.
Another mid-Victorian chair with cabriole legs and needlework back and seat. The legs are more slenderly treated, with less curvature and the scrolled knobs at the feet are less accentuated.
A country mahogany chair of the 1820-40 period. The Regency influence is evident in the arms, but the broad top rail belongs to the later part of the period.
Balloon-back Victorian chair in walnut. The cabriole legs, despite a tendency towards bandyness, mark the distinct move away from the heavy turned legs of the previous years. The nicely proportioned curve of the seat rail between the legs helps to accentuate the change to a flowing, curved effect. These chairs were evidently very popular and were made for a number of years - perhaps up to the 1860’s and in a modified form throughout the rest of the period.
Early Victorian (1839) Gillows chair with turned and fluted front legs. The downward curve of the thick top rail, which is carved, helps to produce a more integrated design. It is a sitting room chair with padded back to give additional comfort.

Antique Dining Walnut and Mahogany Chairs, Regency, Victorian and George III Elbow Armchairs

A SET OF SIX WALNUT DINING CHAIRS, mid 18th century
Each with a pierced vase split and drop-in seat, on cabriole legs terminating in trifid feet.
A SET OF EIGHT EBONISED AND DECORATED ELBOW CHAIR
Each silver-painted with floral sprays and interlaced ovals with lozenges, the curved back with shaped X-framed splits, with a bowed caned seat with squab, on ring-turned tapered legs.
A MAHOGANY OPEN WING ARMCHAIR, late 19th century
With a padded undulating back and arms with moulded downswept supports, the seat on moulded square chamfered legs.
A WILLIAM IV MAHOGANY RECLINING ARMCHAIR
With a padded curved back, racketed scroll arms and seat with a sliding footrest with hinged square tapered leg supports, on inverted lotus tapered legs terminating in brass caps and castors, stamped R. Daives and
bearing a brass plate Dawe Patent, 17 Margaret Street, Cavendish Square, London.
Robert Dawes is recorded at this address between 1820 and 1839 and patented his “Improved Recumbent Chair” in 1827, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Maney, 1986.
A REGENCY EBONISED ARMCHAIR
With a padded scroll back, arms and seat on line decorated sabre legs with castors.
A PAIR OF VICTORIAN ARMCHAIRS
Each with a moulded open back and C-scroll horizontal sprat, with scroll arms and padded serpentine seat, on cabriole legs.
A GEORGE III MAHOGANY DINING CHAIR
The angled arched back bound by a laurel garland and with an acanthus scroll lyre splat, with a padded bowedseat, on turned fluted tapered legs.
With a pierced fret-carved top and interlaced blind fret-carved tapered and stiff-leaf column, on foliate splayed tripod supports with pad feet.
A LATE VICTORIAN MAHOGANY ARMCHAIR
The shaped acanthus-carved back with a rocaille cresting and pierced interlaced vase splat, with outswept scroll arms and padded serpentine seat, on hipped C-scroll cabriole legs terminating in acanthus scroll feet.
A VICTORIAN WALNUT ARMCHAIR
With a padded curved arched back and bowed seat, on ring-turned tapered legs with castors, stamped Gowtan & Sons, Oxford St. London.
Cowtan & Sons, successors to the firm  of J. Duppa are listed as house decorators, painters, paperstainers, upholsterers and cabinet makers and were active in the second half of 19th century and early part of this
century.
A PAIR OF GEORGE III MAHOGANY LADDER-BACK DINING CHAIRS
Each with a pierced undulating top-rail and splats, with a drop-in seat, on square chamfered legs, restorations.
A PAIR OF REGENCY ROSEWOOD ELBOW CHAIRS
Each with a turned top-rail and pierced X-frame splats, with a caned bowed seat on ring-turned outswept legs.
A GEORGE III MAHOGANY ELBOW CHAIR
The back with moulded vertical splats, with a padded saddle seat, on square tapering legs, one later stretcher and part re-railed.

CHAIRS About 1815-1860
Above, an Austrian Biedermeier sofa, about 1820,
french Charles X mahogany ,armchair, about 1825.
Biedermeier (post-Empire) style in Austria, Germany, Scandinavia, 1815-35. Chairs – mostly without arms – have square-section legs, straight or slightly splayed, and low backs with top rails projecting at sides beyond uprights, enclosing lyre, vase, dolphin or triple reed motifs, or simple horizontal rails. Balloon-back chairs, 1835-50. Armchairs ousted by settees, mainly Empire in style with sabre or cornucopia-shaped feet; turned feet after 1830. One type has compartments in arms for magazines. Highly original designs with serpentine supports by Danhauser of Vienna.
In 1830, Thonet of Boppard, Prussia, begins experiments that lead to factory in Vienna producing bentwood chairs, rocking-chairs, stools, settees, at first Biedermeier in style but developing unique curvilinear character by 1850 – still in production. In Poland, Above, French Louis Philippe rosewood sofa with neo-classical marquetry decoration.
`Simmler’ style (named after Warsaw family firm founded in 18thC) influenced by Biedermeier, French and English styles). In Russia, upholstery embroidered with flowers.
France retains many Empire elements following restoration of monarchy in 1815 (Restauration) e.g. la meridienne – couch with scrolled ends, one lower than the other; fauteuil a gondole – armchair with rounded
Russian Karelian birch chair in Biedermeier style, about 1820.
prow-like back. Gothic revival about 1840 adopts chair-backs with pointed arches, cluster columns in troubadour style, otherwise known as cathedrals when applied to prie dieuxwith low sloping seat. Rococo chairs and settees in Louis XV style reproduced.
Italy continues Empire style, toys with Gothic revival; burgeoning nationalism favours Dantesque chairs and stools on X-supports, echoing Italian Renaissance.
Spain follows semi-classical ‘Fernandino’ phase at mid-century with full-blooded revival of baroque (’Isabellino’ style).
Pale woods (bois clairs) — cherry, bird’s eye maple — fashionable until return about 1840 to mahogany, ebony, oak, walnut. Wide range of upholstery fabrics.
Steam-driven machinery makes for cheaper production, but mainly confined to sawing boards and veneers. Most joints still cut by hand, except in large factories. Thonet’s patented method of steaming birch rods into curved shapes makes mortise-and-tenon joints obsolete for his chairs; e.g. No. 14 in his range is composed of six sections screwed together; components exported for assembly at destination.
Biedermeier: Carving of swans, dolphins. Ebonised classical columns applied to fronts of settees.
Restauration: Marquetry in dark woods on light grounds. Fewer ormolu mounts.
Troubadour (Cathedrals): Carving and piercing of Gothic motifs.
Dantesque: Carving in Renaissance style. Rococo revival: Carving in Louis XV style.
Biedermeier: Polished, never stained. Restauration: French polishing. Some
legs of seat furniture veneered. Troubadour: Oak left natural or waxed. Dantesque: Walnut sometimes ‘antiqued’ with black stain.
Rococo revival: Painted and/or gilded.
Sets of Biedermeier chairs expensive but odd ones often very reasonably priced. Anything in bois clairs is now appreciably dearer than the mahogany equivalent.
Chair-seats may be either ’stuffed over’, the upholstery being fixed to the frame of the chair with small tacks, or ‘drop-in’, the seat fitting within, but not fixed to, the frame. If, as often happens, a drop-in seat is re-upholstered without removing the existing cover, the fit is usually too tight; this may result in loosening of mortiseand-tenon joints, leading to splits.
A Napoleon 111 mahogany side-chair in Gothic style.
19thC Alpine walnut chair, the back in the form of grotesque mask.
CHAIRS About 1850-1890
Below, rococo revival sofa with elaborate carving, about 1860.
Le confidant, legs normally covered by deep fringe.
crapaud’ (vernacular name for fully-upholstered armchair). All heavily stuffed, deep-buttoned and with long fringes hiding their turned feet.
Rococo revival fauteuil With cartouche-shaped back and cabriole legs.
Revivals of historic styles abounded, but were often interpreted in new ways, so despite all the slavish copying that went on, most seat furniture of this period can hardly be mistaken for any other.
Rococo revival chairs combine cabriole legs with baroque twists, while chaises longues and sofas have backs with curves bolder than anything known in 18thC.
From 1850s, Napoleon III (Second Empire) side chairs have tapered legs derived from Louis XVI types, but turnings are more pronounced and ringed with gilt metal headings. A suite comprises sofa, two armchairs, four or six side-chairs with exposed frames, often ebonised, the legs with gilt flutes. Balloon backs, familiar since 1830s, remain popular.
napoleon III chair with turned, tapered and fluted legs.
New types include le confident (S-shaped sofa — occupants whisper to each other while facing in opposite directions); le canape capitonne (prototype of modern settee, with sausage-shaped arms); le pouf (circular stool): la chauffeuse capitonne tonne a roulettes (low, armless chair on wheels for drawing up to fire); Ve
‘Sociable” used at centre of salon, about 1860.
Mahogany, walnut, beech for side chairs and armchairs with exposed woodwork, beech for frames of fully upholstered types. Horsehair and flock for stuffing. Steel for spiral springs. Bamboo for chairs in oriental styles. Rich upholstery fabrics, especially plush (wool velvet as distinct from silk).
Apart from mass-produced, screwed-together Thonet products (see CHAIRS about 1815 to 1860, p. 227), traditional methods assisted by machinery are employed for seats with exposed woodwork. For frames of fully upholstered types, dowels increasingly used in place of mortise-and-tenon joints, and towards end of century for chairs with show-wood (exposed) frames. Most important development is spiral springing, first invented in Germany, patented in Britain in 1828 but not in general use until about 1850.
Revivals: Carving, sometimes rather coarse, of motifs more or less appropriate to the style imitated.
Contemporary: Turning, carving, fluting of legs, marquetry on top rails. Main decorative feature is rich upholstery and fancy trimmings, especially fringes.
Much exposed woodwork ebonised, otherwise French polished.
Taste swings periodically for and against ebonised furniture. If Napoleon III types are bought in a bear market, complete or part salon suites in need of re-upholstery can be picked up at bargain prices.
EBONISED SEATS
The fashion for ebonised seats spread to Britain in the 1860s and it is often difficult to be sure about the country of origin. A useful but not infallible guide is that most Continental (especially French and
Italian) examples have small leather-covered wheels; English have brown or white porcelain castors. English castors, however, were imported in bulk by furniture manufacturers in Germany. It is fairly safe to conclude that chairs of this period with porcelain castors are not French, and that ones with leather wheels are not English – unless, of course, they have been replaced.

CHAIRS: English 19th Century Antique
About 1840-1915
More varied in style and quality than any time before or since, traditional hand-craftsmanship having to compete with cheaper mass-manufacture aided by machinery. Numerous (variously-interpreted) pastiches of historic styles (plus later reproductions) and new arts and crafts, aesthetic and progressive or art nouveau styles appeared at various times.
Sets of (usually six) side-chairs were often purchased en suite with sofa (or chaise longue) and pair of easy chairs.
Styles are too varied to describe in detail, but the broad categories are:
Rococo (sometimes described in the 19thC as ‘Old French’ or ‘Louis Quatorze’); about 1840-1885: See CHAIRS: VICTORIAN BALLOON-BACKS, p. 66.
Typically late-Victorian, yet in no easily identifiable style.
Gothic (i) about 1830-1870: Fashionable for halls, libraries. Dark oak. Ornate carving of decorative motifs derived from Gothic architecture. Tall backs typically with pinnacles. Square seats; straight, carved legs with or without stretchers.
Gothic (ii) ‘Reformed Gothic’, about 1830-1870: Light oak. Very simple frames of architectural form, sometimes buttressed underframes (after Pugin, see p. 228). Chamfered edges on straight members. Legs turned or square. Square seats, leather upholstery. Some geometric inlay in dark colours.
Gothic (iii) ‘Commercial Gothic’, about 1860-1890: Often inferior quality manufacture. Inlay or shallow-carved dot-dash decoration with shallow-carved quatrefoils on non-Gothic forms (see Nameless Victorian styles opposite).
Elizabethan (or ‘Jacobean’), about 1830-1865: Popular for dining-rooms. Often confused use of decorative motifs and forms. Many chairs actually of Restoration type with tall backs (rectangular panels of upholstery
rather than canework), spiral turned uprights, ornate carved crestings, turned and carved legs and stretchers. (See also CHAIRS: UPHOLSTERED for the prie dieu, a popular `Elizabethan’ type.)
Renaissance, about 1870-1915: Also popular for dining-rooms. Dark stained wood. Ornate carving all over of strapwork, car-touches, and other Renaissance motifs.
Leather or rexine (imitation leather) upholstery on square seats and rectangular central back panels.
Arts and Crafts, about 1865-1895: See
CHAIRS: WINDSORS, COUNTRY for Morris & Co. rush-seated chairs and ladder-backs.
Art Furniture (or Aesthetic), about 18701890: Ebonised finish with shallow incised carving, mostly of straight lines. Strong vertical and horizontal emphasis. Turned uprights with many spindles. Straight close-ring-turned legs. Square seats.
Some similar art furniture chairs in AngloJapanese form. Generally a lighter feel overall with thinner, plainer members. Not always ebonised. Sometimes the back included a painted and gilded panel.
Art nouveau (or ‘Quaint’ or ‘Old English’), about 1890-1915: Tall narrow backs, sometimes tapering inwards towards top. Straight, often spindly legs. Plain vertical splats, often pierced or carved with hearts, stylized
flowers, trailing vines.
Variations include Liberty’s heavy oak chairs.
Reproductions of 18thC styles, about 1865-1915.
Mahogany, rosewood, walnut, oak. Some satinwood. Beech and birch for ebonised and cheaper stained or painted chairs.
Machine-cut dowels used extensively instead of mortise-and-tenon. (Pegged mortise-andtenon used on some reformed Gothic chairs, but not many of these around.) Seat frames strengthened with triangular blocks at each showing screwed-on corner blocks.
Post-1870 chair in a vaguely Renaissance style.
Triangular blocks
Blocks screwed and glued corner with outer edge waved to take screws. Screws machine-made and pointed. Machinery also widely used for cutting and carving. Many pieces stamped underneath with registration number of design.
Virtually all chairs with some carving, much done by machine and therefore shallow and often lacking in character. Often flush with surface. Grooving and dot-dash ornament very common after 1870. (Sometimes
picked out in gold on fashionably ebonised surfaces.)
Some inlay, particularly of ebony or boxwood on Gothic pieces.
Some papier mach& pieces typically japanned, with painted, gilt and mother-of-pearl decoration.
Polish for better quality pieces. Cheaper pieces frequently stained and varnished. Ebonised finish especially popular between about 1870 and 1890.
VALUES
Extremely variable, according to quality. In general, the same rules apply for sets versus singles as for chairs of other dates, but prices often start at a lower base, definitely in two rather than three figures. A reputable
maker’s stamp (say Gillow’s or Shoolbred’s) or a verified design by a noted aesthetic or arts and crafts designer will certainly add to the value.
NAMELESS VICTORIAN STYLES
From around 1870 many chairs which are instantly recognizable today as Victorian were made in nameless styles. Really squared-up versions of balloon-backs, they tend to have low, squarish backs, D-shaped or
square seats with shallow moulded seat rails, narrow carved splats of cross-rails, and straight turned legs with or without stretchers. Shallow machine-carved decoration often runs around the back.
Many distinctive chairs were also made in new materials such as bamboo and wicker (many for gardens and conservatories). Cast iron was used only for garden chairs. Papier mache was used for a variety of styles,
mostly providing only the surface decoration.