COUNTRY: LADDER- AND SPINDLE-BACKS
About 1700-1939
Traditional ladder-back, spindle and other turned chairs were made in all parts of Britain throughout the 18th and 19thC. Although regional variations exist in the shape of turnings and so on, most follow the same basic patterns. Some arts and crafts designers were influenced by the tradition, and from the 1860s onwards the style appeared in more sophisticated interiors than previously. Between the wars many authentic
reproductions were made of both spindle- and ladder-backs; if well worn these are difficult to identify and many are sold with an earlier date.
Ladder-backs originated in 17thC Holland. Between four and seven horizontal, usually waved, slats, sometimes curved to fit the sitter’s back; with or without a turned or shaped top-rail, sitting on rather than between the uprights. Turned front legs (on armchairs con-
PORTER’S CHAIRS
Large porter’s chairs, hooded to exclude draughts, were common in very large houses, but are rare today. Most were totally covered with leather upholstery edged with brass nails. Without exposing at least part of the underframe it is difficult to distinguish these from modern reproductions when re-upholstered. Solid wood panelled versions are not unknown, but are seldom for sale. Wicker examples (possibly the most common) are similarly rare and are in such poor condition as to render them valueless other than in terms of historical interest.
Fully upholstered hall or porter’s chair.
Lea Two spindle-back chairs, made from 1750.
Cotswold school ladder-back armchairs, about 1890-1910.
Often modified version of pad foot. Always two plain side stretchers and one or two at back. Arms flat and slightly curved for comfort.
Spindle-backs, principally from Cheshire, Lancashire and Northern England, were similar, but with square-sectioned horizontal cross rails in back enclosing arrangements of small turned spindles. Over-riding waved
crest rail. On armchairs generally three rows, on singles only two.
Both types commonly had rush seats, but some had wooden seats with a raised and moulded edge.
Common arts and crafts-inspired types include the Morris & Co. ‘Sussex’ chairs (about 1865 onwards) and versions plagiarised by other firms; also various, sometimes spindly, ladder-backs based on designs revived by Ernest Gimson (about 1880 onwards) and his later bobbin-turned version of a spindle-back.
Oak, elm, fruit and other local woods. Occasionally mahogany in the 18thC; beech and birch common in 19th.
Dowelled or tenoned joints. Seat rails under rush often crude; machine-made versions smoother and more evenly shaped. Edges of rush seats (particularly on late-19th and early-20thC versions) were sometimes
concealed by flat strips of wood tacked on to the rails beneath.
None other than regionally different turning.
Polish: Black or green stain for arts and crafts type chairs in late-19thC, popularised by Morris & Co.’s Sussex chairs. Stain devised for them by the artist Ford Madox Brown.
VALUES
Single ladder- and spindle-backs are still in three figures but sets of eight are well into four. Same applies to 19thC adaptations, and even later reproductions.
Despite their arts and crafts appeal, single Sussex chairs are often still in two; sets cost more, but are still relatively affordable, mostly because they were made in large numbers.