CHAIRS  bentwood
Bentwood furniture was introduced to England by the Austrian, Michael Thonet, at the Great Exhibition of 1851. His rocking chair, shown here, is one of the most popular forms and has been much reproduced.
c. 1860
A bentwood armchair of Thonet production itemised as No. 20 in the Thonet catalogue. An elegant chair of pleasant proportions.
A plain bentwood chair, catalogued as No. 14 by Thonet, and his best selling item at nearly fifty million since 1859. As used in cafes throughout Europe. During the 1870s Thonet was said to be turning out 1,200 of this model daily  see Gillian Walkling, Antique Collecting, December 1979.
An unusual, high, bentwood office chair, adjustable in height and with a revolving seat. The circular seat is impressed with the pattern one associates with bentwood furniture. 1900-1920
CHAIRS  balloon back, Victorian
The balloon back chair was quite a perennially popular form and has been appreciated by collectors since the 1960s. It is worth reiterating that most balloon back chairs were not intended as dining chairs, which are
structurally heavier. The light, cabriole-leg balloon back was for occasional use in the drawing or sitting room.
A standard Victorian mahogany chair of a type made from the 1840s to the 1880s. Not actually a balloon back but showing how it could easily come about as a sequence of this design. The legs are a bit pumpkin-like and the top rail is heavy. 1840-1880
A mahogany balloon back chair with some carving appended under the top rail. It would probably have been wiser to restrain this sort of decoration to the lower rail, since the appended upper carving detracts.
A classic example of an oval walnut balloon back chair with a wool-work covered seat. The amount of carving on the back and on the ‘knee’ of the cabriole legs, which end in scrolled feet, is restrained and pleasant. 1850-1880
A late, turned-leg version of the balloon back in mahogany, with a central carved splat instead of a horizontal rail. The back is quite attractive but the legs, with their rather clumsy collars, the large upper ones carved with vaguely leaf forms, are not harmonious with the curves of the back.
A variant of the balloon back on cabriole legs but with Gothic influence in the shaping of the back. The dot-dash grooving in the flat surface and the sudden cranks in the shaping are tell-tale characteristics of the later varieties of Victorian rococo.
A mahogany variation on the principle, this time with a French Louis XV shape to the back, which is upholstered. Still
rococo enough for Victorian tastes and of a shape which is a perennial favourite. Sometimes known as ‘French Hepplewhite’. 1860-1880
An oval upholstered chair with a buttoned back, painted and decorated with carving. Again a French design which returned to popularity in the 1870s, conveying an impression of lightness and elegance whilst still being stronger structurally than the cabrioled balloon back. The oval back is perhaps a little heavy.