A Mahogany Sheraton Style Single Chair - Country Sheraton Design Armchair  -  Chair of the Early Regency Period

A Sheraton design chair of considerable workmanship. Many such chairs are to be found painted in white and gilt or otherwise having painted decoration on birch or beech wood. In the main the painted versions are
more highly sought after than the mahogany ones, which makes for higher prices. Note the turned and fluted legs. The arm uprights have spiral reeding.
A Sheraton design arm and single chair in mahogany. The uprights and arms are reeded, which lightens the square solidarity of design. Note the vase shaped turned arm supports and the way in which the broad top
rail is panelled. The legs and back uprights are reeded; this effect is also carried round the panel in the wider top back rail.
A simpler Sheraton design with tapering legs normally made in mahogany. The arm uprights are of straightforward turning without the spiral reeding which adds greatly to price. An elegant and simple style which remained popular for many years.
Late 18th century arm and single chairs. Note the broad top rail in the back, the panel veneered in figured mahogany. The spiral twist middle rail is a feature of quality particularly important in value assessment of these chairs. The legs are turned, without any fluting. The arms of the elbow chair sweep forward and curve down to meet the line of the front legs. The proportion of these admirable smaller dining chairs makes them
extremely popular in the modern home,
Another late Georgian c. 1810 mahogany armchair, something of a combination of Sheraton and prevailing styles. The wide top back rail is veneered with a panel of figured mahogany and the centre rail is elegantly
reeded. The turning of the front legs and the arm supports, with the popular vase shape, is lightly and gracefully done. Occasionally brass stringing will be found around the inlaid back panel, which adds to the
decorative value.
A mahogany Sheraton style single chair with Gothic arching in the design of the back. The legs are tapered on the inside edge only and are reeded, as is the back. An elegant and simple chair.
A mahogany armchair of the late 18th century. An excellent example of a good quality chair, as evidenced in the reeding and lightness of design of the back. The turned legs are a little clumsier and have hints of later
things to come.
Country Sheraton design armchair in mahogany with bowed solid seat. A satisfying and simple country design of which many were made to meet the popular demand caused by the town versions.
A simpler Sheraton design with tapering legs normally made in mahogany. The arm uprights are of straightforward turning without the spiral reeding which adds greatly to price. An elegant and simple style which remained popular for many years.
Late 18th century arm and single chairs. Note the broad top rail in the back, the panel veneered in figured mahogany. The spiral twist middle rail is a feature of quality particularly important in value assessment of these chairs. The legs are turned, without any fluting. The arms of the elbow chair sweep forward and curve down to meet the line of the front legs. The proportion of these admirable smaller dining chairs makes them
extremely popular in the modern home.
Another late Georgian c. 1810 mahogany armchair, something of a combination of Sheraton and prevailing styles. The wide top back rail is veneered with a panel of figured mahogany and the centre rail is elegantly
reeded. The turning of the front legs and the arm supports, with the popular vase shape, is lightly and gracefully done. Occasionally brass stringing will be found around the inlaid back panel, which adds to the
decorative value.
Proportion and design  Figure of wood and inlays
A country Sheraton single chair in mahogany with straight legs and solid seat. The square back with vertical rails owes much to the popularity of Sheraton styles, otherwise the design comes from a straightforward 18th century construction.
A rather heavier Sheraton style mahogany country chair with drop-in seat. The broad top rail of the back has been made slightly wider than the back uprights which detracts slightly from the elegance of the style.
Otherwise the construction and tapering legs are typical.
An elegant chair of the early Regency period, with caned back and seat. The outward turn of the simulated bamboo legs is most effective and the balance is completed by the curved top rail. The seat rail and the top
rail are inlaid with stringing in the approved classical manner. Many of these chairs were made of birch or beech and then ebonised or painted. They are almost inevitably very expensive.
Lightness and elegance of design

Country Chippendale Armchair in Elm - A Chippendale Mahogany Ladder-Back Chair -  Hepplewhite Arm and Single Chair - Hepplewhite Shield-Back chair

Country Chippendale armchair in elm c. 1770. A simple and appeallingly bold chair although this example has been worn or slightly cut down in the leg. The seat is fully upholstered, which may be a conversion due to damage to the front rail. The tenon joints are pegged.
Another Country Chippendale armchair of more ornate splat design, with drop-in seat. The Gothic influence is evident in the arching within the splat and the top rail is also arched in a slightly later style. Usually to be
found in mahogany or country wood such as elm or birch stained mahogany colour.
Many such chairs, having been used hard for many years, have had stretchers replaced or cut legs replaced. Watch also for broken or replaced splats and top rails; the latter particularly at the tenon joint with the
upright.
A Chippendale mahogany ladder-back chair of c. 1765. The ladder-back designs tended to be of later Chippendale period. In this case the back rails are elegantly designed and pierced to add lightness to the overall effect. Note the scratch moulding down the front leg corners also to add lightness and the chamfered backs of the front legs.
A Chippendale ladder-back chair with upholstered seat, slightly shaped across the front rail. The pierced rails of the ladder back help to lighten the chair.
Country Chippendale chair in mahogany c. 1760. Fully upholstered seat covered in tapestry pattern fabric. A good example of a better quality country chair.
Mahogany Chippendale chair of pleasing simplicity and proportion. The splat is elegantly curved and the back, though square in design, is curved and softened by the tapering uprights.
Hepplewhite chairs of hooped back design. The tapering legs are reeded or moulded and the back repeats this feature. Note that the arm chair is not a match with the single chairs. The back splat designs are typical of this type, finely executed and decorated with carving down the centre.
An oak country chair of c. 1760 with solid seat. The back splat still retains an echo of the Queen Anne period but the uprights and top rail join in an outward turn more akin the mid-18th century. Similar chairs in solid walnut with even earlier styles in the back pre-date these simple robust pieces.
Mahogany Country Chippendale chair of heavier proportion c. 1780. The casters under the legs have been added later, possibly to compensate for wear caused by stone floors. There is considerable workmanship in the carving of the back but the rather flattened top rail lacks the elegance of London or even provincial work.
A Hepplewhite design chair of c. 1790 with hooped back. The centre splat decorated with the circular medal-like motif with leaf decoration radiating out from a centre. A fairly typical design which is associated with Hepplewhite but which more probably emanated from Robert Adam. The legs are still of the square section straight type of Chippendale period and not as light or elegant as the normal Hepplewhite, type which were tapered. The seat is bowed. The chair is made of mahogany.
A mahogany Chippendale chair with fully upholstered seat. The back splat design is one which seems to have been particularly popular with country and later makers of this design of chair.
A ‘Chipplewhite’ design mahogany chair of c. 1780. Note that the influence of French designs has now cut the bold sweep of the arms to a more attenuated length and of less broad a scope.
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.
This is a simple version of this design. A more decorated version could well double these prices.
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.

Chippendale Mahogany Armchair - Mid-18th Century Chair in Mahogany - George II Period Chair - A Victorian Button-Back Mahogany ‘Ladies’ Chair with Cabriole Legs

UPHOLSTERED CHAIRS
Value points: Early examples with original upholstery even if in worn condition command a premium over the range quoted, often by an appreciable amount if the work is of fine quality. The position is reversed in the case of Victorian Chairs where the upholstery is usually of ordinary quality. Clearly most purchasers would pay a premium for good new quality material.
Early 18th century wing armchair with cabriole legs in walnut. Upholstered in leather. This is a fine example and well illustrates the three dimensional quality of the design. The wings sweep into the arms of this fine quality chair, which is as comfortable to sit in as one might imagine. Note the shape of the back legs; this feature is not normally well imitated by later craftsmen.
A George III wing armchair upholstered in leather. Note the square stretcher and leg construction of ‘Chippendale’ design. The curve of the wings is pleasant but the arms are a little stiff.
N. B. As these chairs command high prices there is a grave temptation to make a set of legs in the Georgian style and cover the modern frame with leather. Such examples usually lack the fluency of curve which was
found in better class examples.
A Chinese Chippendale mahogany armchair with upholstered back and arms. The bamboo motif is evident. The front legs are a remarkable achievement of craftsmanship and the nicely-scrolled brackets add considerable balance. The upholstery covering is of typical period design.
Mid-18th century chair in mahogany showing Chippendale con-struction in legs and stretchers.
Value points: Carving or moulding on legs  Originality of casters
A later George III period mahogany wing armchair. The sweep of the curve formed by the wings and the back rail is important. Compare the straight high line of the wings and arms in this example with the fluency of the two previous examples. This example is also rather thin, lacking the generous proportions of the better quality chairs. The lines would be improved by upholstery but the basic quality is lacking. The legs are tapered ending in casters.
Design of legs
George II period mahogany chair with stuffed back and saddle shaped seat. Covered in Soho tapestry woven with birds and small landscapes in broad naturalistic flower borders; on scrolled cabriole legs.
Mid-18th century open giltwood armchair with considerable Adam influence in the frieze and fluted legs.
A later 18th century open armchair of French influence but actually of a type made also by Chippendale. The decoration includes cartouche backs headed by shell cabochons. The frame is carved with leaf mouldings, the scrolled arms with leaf shoulders. Covered in later gros-point needlework with panels of flowers in key-pattern frame against a blue ground with roses.
Bergere caned chair of Regency period, in rosewood. These well made chairs have increased in popularity over recent years.
A George III period open armchair with arched stuffed back and padded arms on curved supports with anthemion carving, the moulded frame with bead carving, the stuffed seat on turned tapering reeded legs with lotus leaf feet.
Regency period chair decorated with brass or painted gilt mounts, frequently ebonised.
Value points: Brass decorations
Well curved leg with stretcher
A mid-Victorian open armchair in walnut, of the popular button-back type. The fluency of the curve between the arm supports and the cabriole leg is spoilt by the thickness of wood at the point where the scrolls are carved. Most examples are better balanced. This example is in walnut, but many were made in mahogany.
Value points: Decoration  Rosewood
A Victorian button-back mahogany ‘ladies’ chair, with cabriole legs. The top rail is decorated with leaf carving. The ‘grandmother’ equivalent of the previously illustrated ‘grandfather’ (i.e. with arms).
Later Victorian upholstered chair on mahogany cabriole legs. One of a large number of similar designs which being very comfortable have doubled in price over the last 3 to 4 years.

Chippendale Mahogany Armchair - A Chippendale ‘Ribbon’ Back Chair - Walnut pre-Chippendale Chair

Walnut pre-Chippendale chair of c. 1740-50. Cabriole legs with scroll and leaf on knee, ending in pad feet. Top rail and upright meet in elegant scroll. Pierced splat designed to give four tapering uprights. Drop-in seat.
A chair of some quality even if possibly provincially made.
Note the outward sweep of back legs, terminating in knobs to balance front pad feet.
Another walnut pre- Chippendale chair with simple rbut similar back splat design. The square legs and stretchers suggest a later date -possibly 1750 - and the proportions are a little less ample, but this is nevertheless a  very pleasing chair. There is a drop-in seat and the front legs have a scratch moulding down the front corners; they are chamfered at the back.
An interesting chair of c. 1755 in mahogany, the kneed legs showing the country type transition to square straight legs from cabrioles. The scrolled carving of the splat is elegantlydone yet the chair retains the essential sturdiness of the period. The proportion is good and the back legs sweep boldlyback in the manner of earlier chairs.
Chippendale mahogany armchair of considerable quality. Cabriole legs, decorated with shell and scroll pattern carving on the knee, terminating in excellent ball-and-claw feet. The arms sweep boldly outwards,
terminating almost at right angles to the line of the sides in scrolls. A very well proportioned back splat, with the upper scrolled curves leading perfectly from the top rail, which is also carved with leaf patterns. Note the boldness and width of the fully upholstered seat which is covered in leather. N. B. Although this type is generally known as a ‘Chippendale’ chair it is interesting to recall that the ‘Director’ shows chairs with cabriole legs with scrolled feet, until the 3rd, edition when a plate of hall chairs shows the ball and claw foot, which was undoubtedly popular at this period.
Warning: Many high quality Victorian reproductions exist of this type of chair. These reproductions have a value of $25-$35 each.
Chippendale mahogany armchair again of considerable quality particularly in the carving of the centre splat and top rail. The straight front legs are reeded, as are the curving uprights. There is less sweep to the arms
and the plainer treatment of the legs reduces the value from the previous example. The boldness and width of the chair are particularly to be noted in that 19th century copies tend to be meaner in proportion. The
craftsmanship in the carving of the back splat is of a high order.
A single mahogany Chippendale chair of similar type to the preceding armchair but of bolder proportion. While the back uprights are reeded however,the legs are not. A scratch moulding down the corners of the front legs gives added lightness and the front apron is slightly serpentine. Note the very fine quality of the scroll and leaf carving which is pleasantly mellowed with age and lacks the sharpness of a reproduction piece. The overall proportions of the chair are extremely pleasing and demonstrate the ample size of 18th century seats.
Chippendale mahogany chair in the Gothic style c. 1760. Although the Gothic influence - and French influence also - are evident, it is only in mild form in this chair. In earlier versions taken from Chippendale’s ‘Director’ the Gothic designs are very much more exaggerated, with multi-arched backs and heavily fretted legs and stretchers. This chair is of high quality, good proportion and restrained, though rich, execution.
(Gothic and Chinese Chippendale chairs of high quality are much sought after).
Quality of design, proportion and carving
A mahogany Chippendale chair with the splat again showing the Gothic influence in the arching. The top rail is waved and carved with leaves, but the legs and stretchers are the plain robust design of the period.
A Chippendale ‘Ribbon’ back chair of c. 1760-70. So called because of the ribbon carving in the back. Due to the craftsmanship involved in executing these chairs they naturally command high prices and are relatively
scarce. The remainder of the chair is of typical Chippendale design, with fully upholstered seat which in some cases may be serpentine at the front.
It is interesting to note that although the period after 1730-40 is generally associated with mahogany, a well known example of this type exists in walnut, and walnut chairs are to be found of even later date.

Antique 17th-18th Century Walnut Chair  - William and Mary Period Walnut Armchair - A Queen Anne Period Country Walnut Chair - George II Period Mahogany Chair Furniture

Late 17th century walnut chair with velvet upholstery. Shaped stretchers and carved bulbs on legs.
Quality of execution of legs and stretchers
Late 17th century - William and Mary period - Walnut armchair. Curved and moulded stretchers. Note the bulb turning and ‘bun’ feet - to be seen on other pieces of the period such as side tables and chest stands. The wool or hair upholstery is covered with velvet with bullion braiding. Note also the curvature of the arms to balance the stretchers.
Chairs of this period tend to be uncommon and wide variations occur depending on condition and quality.
William and Mary period walnut chair with cane back. A marked development in design from the previous example. The high cane back and square section joining of the back legs has been retained but the new form of leg - the cabriole - has appeared, introduced to England byforeign workmen. The cabrioles in this example finish in hoof or pied-de-biche feet. This is an early form of Continental influence. The transition between the high backed cane chairs of the 17th century and the finely carved cabrioles of the 18th century is to be seen. The Victorians were fond of making hall chairs of this type but usually lost proportion in legs and stretchers.
Queen Anne period walnut chair of early design. The now famous splat shape is evident but the high back is retained, although a curve in the rake of the back has emerged - the spoon back. There is a shaped and moulded stretcher but in this case the cabriole legs terminate in simple pad feet. The height of the back and the square section of the back legs are retained from the previous century. An interesting feature peculiar to Q. A. workmanship is the slightly raised planed moulding at the bottom of the frame just under the seat, rather like cockbeading. cabriole-leg side tables and chest stands of the period sometimes exhibit the same feature.
A superb walnut armchair of about 1710 raised on high quality cabriole legs decorated on the knee with criss cross carving and small tassels, the ends terminating in ball and claw feet. The back is of unusual shape but the solid splat of walnut veneered on oak is found on less good examples. The shepherd’s crook arms are well proportioned. The thick rim round the drop-in seat is typical of the period, as is the shell motif repeated on the cresting rail. A side view would show the pronounced rake of this top quality chair.
Cabrioles  Back
A Queen Anne period country walnut chair which was originally rush-seated. The front legs are cabrioles and the turned stretchers between the legs have square joints. The presence of stretchers tends to distract somewhat from the line of the cabrioles and is generally assumed to be a feature of the chairs of the earlier part of the period. The back legs and uprights are also turned, a feature frequently found on chairs of this period. The plain back splat is curved and the rush seatwas of the drop-in type. The cabriole legs end in pad feet and the design and execution of the chair is of good quality for country furniture. Instead of fitting shoulder pieces at the sides of the cabriole knees, the flat facets are covered with round knobs, glued on.
Quality of cabriole and back  Note the cabrioles on this example are slightly bandy and the knee (top) is too heavy for the foot.
Queen Anne country chair, with back splat of shape typically associated with the period. Drop-in seat; turned stretchers and back uprights. Cabriole legs of gentler curve, ending in small pad feet. Generally to be found in either walnut - now more scarce - or oak. Occasional examples in elm.
Original stretchers.  Stretchers may be found to have been replaced, but value not greatly affected. Beware however of replacement feet, legs or top rail which detract.
Walnut Queen Anne period corner chair with inlaid diamond pattern in boxwood. Turned stretchers and uprights. Typically shaped splats in figured walnut. Drop-in seat. Cabriole legs ending in pad feet; note the shell motif carved on the front cabriole, a factor of quality. This chair is possibly of country origin.
Quality of execution, i.e. proportion, grace of cabrioles, shell motifs etc.
Queen Anne walnut country chair, with cabriole legs at front and back. Fully upholstered seat. The plain back splat curved to meet shaped top rail. Note the absence of stretchers between the legs, generally supposed to be a later improvement of the period.
Quality and originality of cabriole legs
A George II period mahogany chair. Note that although a fine quality Cuban mahogany has been used, the style is one which would normally be associated withwalnut; but there are extra refinements. The vase shaped splat has small scrolls and a shell work top. The shaped uprights to the back are topped with eagle heads and the cabriole legs have leaf patterns carved on the knees.
Country chair of pre-Chippendale design c. 1745-55. The transition of the back splat from the solid Queen Anne shape to pierced Chippendale design is evident, as is the squarer shaping of the top rail. The square legs - chamfered on the inside - and rectangular section stretchers are also typical and generally associated with ‘Chippendale’ country types. The rush drop-in seat is of a type from country chairs of an earlier period. These chairs are generally to be found in oak or elm, with scarcer walnut examples.
Oak and Elm, Walnut.

Antique Oak Chair, Country Oak Chairs,  Charles II Armchairs

Mid-17th Century chair in oak, with elaborately carved back.
The earlier 17th century forms of chair were not dissimilar from this, with the exception of the elaborate winged scrolls on the uprights. Earlier chairs tended to be simpler, with square backs and the decorative areas were less profusely carved. Later in the century the carving exhibited a variety of motives. Note the heavy construction, with column turned legs and square stretchers. Simpler chairs have ’scratchings’ indiamond or other shapes in place of the carvings. Large quantities of these chairs were made, often with dates and initials of owners. Some are decorated with inlays of box, holly, (white) and ebony (black) in geometrical and floral designs. Country makers continued to produce them until the early 18th century.
Price Range: very wide and geared to quality of inlay and carving. Prices relate to highly carved versions; simple ones with scratch decoration are to be found at.
Victorian ‘improvers’ tended to add initials, dates and carving to simple chairs.
Mid-17th century chair. Note the diamond-shaped scratch decoration in the panelled back and solid pegged seat. The front legs are turned in rather bulbous baluster fashion, but the joints remain square and the pegs in the floor-level square section stretcher tenon joints can be seen. The seat is very worn but the remains of the moulded edge can be seen along the rear left-hand side. The front rail is carved in the same decorative manner as the back and shaped on the lower edge; again the pegged tenon joints are evident.
A mid-17th century country oak chair of pleasing simplicity and robust construction. The legs are still column turned as in our previous example and left square at the joints for the tenons, which were pegged. The back is panelled and without decoration. Not a popular collector’s chair at present but still well within reach of the modest pocket.
An oak ‘Derbyshire Chair’ of c. 1650 showing the arcaded back and split baluster decoration on the uprights. Note that the seat is inset or dished to allow for a cushion.
Cromwellian chair demonstrating movement towards lighter design still based on turning. The twist turning was popular in the period and the piece is made of walnut, a wood much more commonly used in the 17th century than is generally supposed. The chair is covered with leather fixed to the frame with heavy nails. Not a chair commonly found in antique shops; it is of a specialist collector’s taste. Bobbin turning rather than twist is often found and beech as well as oak or walnut was used.
Cromwellian oak chair of country construction. Note the square outline and the retention of the floor level square stretchers. The back is straight and the turning simple.
A Charles II - c.1675 - oak chair of radical development. The design is of Continental influence and more continuous. Apart from being carved the design of the scroll both on legs, front stretcher and back, serves to obscure rather than emphasize the method of construction. Cane backs were introduced around 1665 and help to lighten the overall appearance. Twist turning is still evident as well as the square back leg and stretcher joints.
Simpler oak chair of Charles II period with cane back. The front stretcher is simply turned and the seat has been upholstered, perhaps later. The quality is indicated by the fine sweep of the arms and the execution of the carved top cresting rail.
An oak armchair of c. 1680. Note that the stretchers also exhibit twist turning as well as all the uprights. The back carving is well executed with the top rail and front stretcher showing two cherubs supporting a coronet. These chairs, taken singly, are still somewhat undervalued although sets are a specialist demand and command high prices.
Charles II chair of c. 1680 date. The rich ornamentation and crest on the head of the chair indicate that it was made for a rich man or institution. The use of figures for legs is very Continental and the gargoyle arm rests are not of English origin. It is nevertheless typical of the elaborate examples of the period and the general style adopted by the chair makers for the richer classes.
Late 17th century country walnut chair. Note the high back. Rather than incur the expense of the cane back of the town example the country craftsmen used vertical solid bars. The stretchers still follow earlier designs with simple turning and square sections at the tenon joints. The uprights are turned.
Three more late 17th century country chairs, in oak, showing the variations possible in the back. The squab seats have been added for comfort. It is interesting not only to see the similarity of leg and stretcher constructionbut the variations possible in the turning of them.

CHAIRS  country and kitchen : rush-seated, 1860-1930
We have started this section off with the William Morris Sussex rush-seated chair  again. This is appropriate, because the chair was a genuine country type Ire-discovered’ by the Morris firm and typical of country work
which had continued uninterrupted by the vagaries of fashion. Many of the chairs in this section are of typical country type or mass-produced simple chairs suitable for kitchens and the dining room. They are reasonably durable, suitably-priced, very functional in design and mostly pleasing to look at.
This chair may be seen on the right-hand side of the William Morris catalogue advertising the ‘Sussex’ range of rush-seated chairs. Originally they were birch, ebonised or stained dark green, using Ford Madox Brown’s
discovery of a green stain. The design of the chair is said to be traditional, and it is stronger than it looks. The posture required of the sitter is a bit severe. Note the way that the inclined arm supports go right through the seat rail and down into an extra cross stretcher, where their finely-tapered ends locate through the stretcher, like dowels, to add to strength. These chairs set a fashion for many other rush-seated types.
1865-1895
A variation on the previous design, using the same arm-support extension down through to an extra cross-stretcher. The back design is a variant on the ‘wavy-line’ ladder-back. c. 1870
A bamboo rush-seated chair in which the influence of William Morris, the Arts and Crafts Movement and the Japanese or ‘quaint’ style are gaily intermingled. By the 1870s, leading firms were producing bamboo
furniture cheaply to cater for the popular Japanese vogue. In this chair the traditions of Sussex and Tokyo have been determinedly blended. 1870-1910
A fruitwood chair designed by Ernest Gimson. The rush seat is conventional. Note the careful proportion and
the spacing of the ladder back  a very satisfying chair to look at.
Not all country chairs were made by simple country craftsmen. This oak armchair with rush seat was probably designed by R. Norman Shaw about 1876 and retailed by William Morris. It rests at the Victoria and Albert Museum, who note that it was at the Tabard Inn, Bedford Park. The high back, with turned uprights and simple straight splat, owes a good deal to early 18th century chairs, but the turning on the front legs is much later in concept. c. 1876
A cleaned-off rush-seated armchair with an unusual back incorporating wavy, slightly ‘quaint’ slats with pierced circles in them. Made of birch and originally stained black. c. 1885
A rush-seated ‘art nouveau’ chair with round-capped uprights to the back which are echoed by the front legs. Although it looks simple, it is a deceptive chair, in which the plain oak surface in the back has a simple
fielded panel carved in it and the spacing of the flat cross slats beneath has been very carefully designed and proportioned. It is a chair of traditional country ancestry but redesigned in a modern, arts and crafts form
which indicates an architect behind it somewhere. 1890-1910
A chair by Liberty’s of London of rather solid oak splat construction in the ‘art nouveau’ manner.
Four small rush-seated chairs of mass-produced type in sub-Sheraton designs which were intended for kitchen or dining room use. A large variety of this type were turned out in Edwardian times. 1900-1920
A bobbin-turned yew chair with rush seat designed by Ernest Gimson. The bobbin-turning dates back to the 17th century and the style is derivative of that earlier period. Evidence again of the late 19th and early 20th
century desire to get back to simpler and more natural styles. c. 1905
A remarkable example of a low-backed ladderback chair with rush seat illustrated by Maurice Adams in 1926. The distinctive top rail is derived from the ‘Macclesfield’ design of country chair originating in 1790-1830. It is almost a faithful reproduction but the back design is not quite true. Would probably be sold nowadays as an ‘early 19th century’ chair. 1920-1930
Quite elegant ladderback rush-seated chairs of a design not far from Ernest Gimson and traditional types but, in fact, modern chairs from Maurice Adams 1926 catalogue. 1920-1940
The spindle and ladderback country chair was also made throughout the 19th century and much reproduced in the 1920s and 1930s when both types suited the vogue for oak ‘Jacobean’ dining rooms. Both these
examples are straightforward copies of early 19th century chairs taken from Maurice Adams’ 1926 catalogue. There were many producers of such chairs. On the left is a spindle-back rush-seated chair of a Lancashire
or Yorkshire type made from the 18th century onwards. On the right a `wavy-line’ ladderback of similar dating. Both are popular country chairs and have continued to be sought after. It is likely that many 20th century versions, with a bit of wear knocked into them, would be sold as being of much earlier date.
A rush-seated ladder-back chair of a mass-produced type, post-First War, which has used the fashion set by Morrisian and country chairs for its design. Compared with architect-designed types, it does not quite come off because the back is a little too long and clumsy, with its square uprights set at an uncomfortable angle, for the turned front legs. Nevertheless, made in a pleasant birch or beech, a cheerful chair for ‘country’ style kitchens or dining rooms. 1920-1935

American Chairs About 1890-1940 - Art nouveau, Art Deco, Crafts Movement
Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the centre of the furniture industry, with Chicago as a breeding ground of reformist designers including Frank Lloyd Wright who stressed the need for good furniture that could be mass-produced with machinery and sold at reasonable prices.
In the 1890s there was a reaction against the historicism of the past half-century. American designers absorbed the principles of the Arts and Crafts Movement (see p. 68) and added touches from art nouveau (see p. 196), to which style C. Rohlf’s elaborately carved chairs, around 1898, were, perhaps, nearest.
In 1894, D.W. Kendall designed for the Phoenix Furniture Co. an oak armchair with cane seat and flat arms that proved popular well into the 1920s. Simply-made chairs, sold off from a Spanish mission in California, inspired J.P. McHugh, who worked in oak and ash; E. Hubbard at the Ryecroft Community, East Aurora; Gustav Stickley at his Craftsman Workshops, Eastwood. Comfort was catered for with club easy chairs and deeply sprung ‘Davenport’ sofas.
Following World War 1, industrial design created the cantilevered, tubular steel chair, but a public preference for something glamorous was catered for with Art Moderne (see p. 275) which, at its best, combined traditional craftsmanship with modern streamlining. The low sofa and easy chair with deeply
Right rocking chair, New York, about 1890.
Oak reclining chair, designed by Frank Lloyd I right, about 1902.
sprung seats and backs, padded arms and minimal feet, took the term ‘fully upholstered’ to the point where woodwork was seldom visible. A sofa designed by the Spanish surrealist Dali, inspired by the lips of the American sex symbol, Mae West, is a classic example of the high Art Moderne style.
Crafts Movement: Native hardwoods such as oak, ash. Cane, rush for- Folk weaves for upholstery.
Industrial Design: Tubular metal, mainly steel. Serviceable upholstery fabrics.
Art Moderne: Exotic woods and expensive textiles.
Crafts Movement: Construction frankly exposed to view. Some makers, influenced by Wright, abandoned conventional joints in favour of screwing sections together.
Industrial Design: When steel tubes took the place of timber, traditional methods were supplanted by metalwork techniques such as welding, bending.
Art Moderne: Traditional joints - mortise-and-tenon, dovetail - though often cut by machine.
Crafts Movement: Exposed construction sometimes exploited as decoration, for instance butterfly joints and dowel ends stained by Rohlfs in contrasting colours. Carving was used by some craftsmen, but rejected by the puritanical.
Industrial Design: Puritanism of a slightly different kind saw decoration as superfluous, but often achieved - almost by accident - a decorative effect from elegant lines and fine proportions.
Art Moderne: Essentially a decorative style, exploiting every available means to achieve its ends - disastrously so at the lower end of the market.
Crafts Movement: Veneers little used. Coloured stains, green expecially, as well as the usual browns. Varnish on cheaper lines, wax on up-market products.
Industrial Design: Chromium plating on tubular steel. Cellulose sprays on 1930s woodwork.
Art Moderne: Veneered panels often used to face the fronts of arms on sofas and easy chairs upholstered in futuristic patterns popular in the jazz age.
Best buys: Mission chairs, especially Roycroft, Stickley - but go for good craftsmanship rather than labels. Many opportunities in Art Moderne seating that needs re-upholstery.
CRAFT MOVEMENT
Craft Movement chairs are often difficult to date because some designs, such as Kendall’s, remained in production for 30 years. Chairs by Stickley are often labelled and can still be bought at reasonable prices.

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.

Art Deco CHAIRS 1920-1940
Painted chair designed by Rietveld for a military club in 1932.
Modernist and Art Deco: About 1917, Dutch architect Rietveld, trained by father as a joiner, designs his first chair under- influence of Lloyd Wright, dispensing with traditional joints – type that becomes known as ‘Red and Blue’ (see CONSTRUCTION.) With other members of group associated with de Stijl magazine, believes ‘the machine contributes to the spiritualization of life’.
In 1919, Gropius established Bauhaus school of art and design at Weimar, moving to Dessau, 1925. Breuer- steel-framed ‘Wassily’ chair, 1925; Stam makes tubular metal and leather chair by Breuer 1924.
cantilevered chair, 1924-6, with versions by van der Rohe and Breuer also contending for first place. Van der Rohe designs Barcelona chair as exhibition piece, 1929 – still in production. Equally famous is Breuer’s steel and wood chaise longue, 1932.
In France, Le Corbusier works along similar lines, but pushed to perimeter of 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes – more decorative than modern industrial – devoted mainly to what is now known as Art Deco: Ruhlmann’s elegant armchairs and sofas with inlaid frames, Defrene’s three-piece suites upholstered in tapestry, the frames carved and gilt. Le Corbusier and Perriand design grand confort easy chair (1926) with tubular steel frame, leather upholstery, consistent with ‘beautiful equipment’ concept.Art Late 1920s and 1930s seat furniture combines best and worst of functional modernist and extravagant Art Deco styles, best elegantly streamlined, worst flashy and vulgar. Most distinguished work from Scandinavia, where trim chairs with seat and back forming continuous curves are designed about 1925 by Asplund, followed by Klint’s hand-made look, and Aalto’s use of steamed and bent plywood for cantilevered frames.
Modernist: Oak, ash, beech, walnut; birch plywood; tubular steel, leather, woven textiles.
Deco Chair, influenced by primitive African furniture, 1920s
Art Deco: Mahogany, walnut, rosewood, steel, fine leathers, suede, tapestry, printed textiles, wool moquette, uncut moquette.
Modernists reject traditional methods. Rietveld – a competent joiner – abandons mortiseand-tenon joints, making ‘Red and Blue’ armchair by screwing together, face to face, six uprights, four stretchers, two seat rails, a back rail, two narrow boards as arms and two wide ones as seat and back. Breuer, Stam, van der Rohe, Le Corbusier devise continuous shapes in tubular steel, thus obviating joinery. In 1930s, Breuer uses aluminium strips.
Art Deco essentially traditional, however novel in appearance; frames joined with mortise-and-tenon or dowel joints.
Modernists reject extraneous decoration, but are not brutalises as has been said; they see chairs, settees, chaises longues as forms of abstract sculpture, beautiful in themselves. Some designers, e.g. Rietveld, make use of contrasting colours; others, e.g. Kline, rely on the natural grain of the wood and on undyed leather.
Art Deco, while not neglecting line and form, puts great emphasis on decoration –marquetry in exotic woods, metal inlay, carving, lacquering. When cheap furniture trade attempts to reproduce effect of faintly decadent glamour, the result has all the charm of smeared lipstick.
Modernist: Natural woods, waxed or French polished and rubbed down to semi-matt. Early tubular steel nickel-plated, later types chromium-plated. Upholstery often made as separate units – squab cushions, pads.
Art Deco: Woods either natural colours or stained. Cheaper versions highly polished or cellulose sprayed. Better types very skilfully upholstered, cheaper ones badly finished. More traditional types, neither distinctly modern’ nor ‘Art Deco’, often supplied with loose covers (for further details, see the Box at the foot of this page).
Being the ‘antiques’ period nearest to the present, and the one in which mass-production came into its own, the 1920-40 period might be expected to offer a wide and inexpensive choice. In practice, the best modernist and Art Deco seat furniture is at least as expensive as that of other periods, and second-best that is worth having is hard to find; but auction sales in houses furnished in 1930s can provide excellent opportunities.
The practice of fitting loose covers dates back to 18thC, when – especially in France – sets were changed with the seasons. Nothing that early now likely to be concealed, but interesting chairs and settees dating from 19thC onwards can be found with original upholstery hidden and protected by tatty chintz covers.
Rosewood stool by Eileen Gray, 1920-5
Aluminium chair with plywood seat by Breuer, 1932.