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

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.

Windsor Chair with High Back - A Child’s Windsor Chair with the Gothic Arched Back - Windsor Chair of the 19th Century

WINDSOR CHAIRS
Windsor chairs or stickback chairs as they are more properly called, were probably first made in the early part of the 19th century. Principally they were a cheap form of seating usefulfor public assemblies, taverns, kitchens and the houses of the less prosperous. There are however some fine quality examples in existence which suggest that the virtues of the chair were appreciated by the more well to do also.
Early examples of Windsor chairs, particularly those with cabriole legs at front and back, have become expensive. Any Windsor chair with yew wood used in it moves to the top of the price range and there were some made in mahogany, which usually indicates better quality. The run-of-the-mill chair usually has an elm seat and legs. The yew chairs also normally have elm seats.
The same designs were copied for many years and dating a chair can therefore be extremely difficult. A late 19th century chair made in an earlier style but hard used and polished for 80 years is virtually unidentifiable from the earlier version. The heavier turned legs and arm supports one normally associates with the Victorian chairs were not always irresistable to the Victorian chair maker.
The principal chair making area seems to have been High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire but chairs of individual design were produced in other parts of the country.
It is worth noting that sets of Windsors do not attract a premium price per chair over a single to the same extent as other chairs.
A comb-back Windsor chair of approximately 17 80. Note the well-shaped saddle seat and the leg turning which is emphasized at the lower part. Many American Windsor chairs are of this design.
Sets are also not usually found of this type
A modern Windsor chair made to a mid-18th century design. The seat would be very ample and the chair of bold proportions. Note the curving crinoline stretcher between the front legs - a feature usually associated with better-made chairs.
Price Range: (for original period chair)
Unusual Windsor chair with high back C. 1800. Note the vase shaping of the centre splat which is attractive. Nevertheless a heavier appearance is given by the splat.
18th century Windsor chair. Difficult to date exactly since this type was made for a long time, but probably late in the century and continuing into the early 19th century. The simple stickback without a splat and saddle seat are typical of the earlier types. The curving arm supports are also interesting since during and after the Regency period turned arm supports became the fashion. This indicates that this chair may be earlier. However this design appears in Gillows cost books in the early 19th century both in mahogany and an elm and cherrywood combination.
Price Range: Elm and Cherrywood
A child’s Windsor chair with the Gothic arched back in yew wood. Although the arm supports and legs bear fairly representative 19th century turning work, the crinoline stretcher and well shaped splat make this a nicely proportioned and well made chair.
A fairly typical Windsor chair of the 19th century. The proportion and the turning of legs and arm supports are altogether heavier. There are still reasonable numbers of these chairs in existence and their very strong construction particularly when yew is used, makes them very durable and utilitarian antiques.
A fairly common type of low backed Windsor used for dining purposes. Note the turned arm supports which indicate 19th century origins.
Another child’s Windsor chair, this time of the high feeding type. Holes are left through the arms so that a spindle may be inserted to prevent the child falling out. The front rest has been removed and the holes in the front legs to fit it can be clearly seen. The splat is decorated with the Prince of Wales feathers, an emblem popular from Hepplewhite’s time onwards, but usually dating from the early 19th century in these chairs.
A mid-19th century Mendlesham chair, a Suffolk variation of Windsor designs rather allied to Lancashire chairs in the decoration.
A late 19th century development of the Windsor chair. Rather ornate with heavyturning; simpler versions were common in schools and offices or institutions until recently.
The Smoker’s Bow, a chair very common in offices and public houses from the end of the 19th century onwards. A large heavy chair which will stand considerable abuse. The horizontal hoop is no longer made bybending the wood but is constructed from several pieces shaped on a band saw and screwed together. In early Windsor chairs this method of forming the hoop was adopted but not always by using screws; the upright spindles did this.
Another simple variation of a type which was made during the latter half of the 19th century. In this case there is no left arm since the chair was made for an Officer’s mess where the facility to rise, wearing a sword, without picking up the chair as well was a considerable advantage.

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.

CHAIRS: COUNTRY WINDSOR
Late-18th century yew comb-back Windsor chair.
Made from the early-18thC onwards by wood turners or ‘bodgers’ setting up temporary workshops in woodland areas. Although made in many parts of the country - hence enormous regional differences in detail - High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire became, and has remained, the centre of the industry. Since the late-19thC, Windsors and their variants have been mass-produced there by machine.
They have many uses - particularly in gardens, coffee-houses and sometimes in halls (18thC) and in kitchens, farmhouses and institutions in the 19th and 20thC.
Early ’stick-back’ versions were simple, with taper-turned sticks (turned with tapering ends) rising from a saddle seat through a horizontal yew-wood hoop forming back and arm supports and dowelling into a shaped crest rail. The most distinctive of these have a comb shape - hence the term ‘comb back’. Splayed, turned legs, at first without stretchers, but soon with either turned H or curved crinoline (or cow’s horn) stretchers.
Hooped backs (with a continuous hoop rising from the back support to replace the horizontal crest rail): Shaped and pierced central splats (at first sometimes set below the back support only); and cabriole legs all
appeared around 1750.
Pierced Gothic splats: Often combined with pointed arch backs and cabriole legs, were introduced about 1760. The familiar wheel-back splat and diagonal struts rising from a ‘bobtail’ extension of the seat - both
common features on machine-made Windsors - first appeared around 1775.
‘Gothic’ Windsor armchair.
With the exception of cabrioles, front and back were turned and identical (from the late-19thC usually machine-turned with double or triple collars.
Saddle seats were common to all and arm supports either turned or (mostly before 1810) curved.
For popular variants - including the ‘Mibnc1leshann’ chair (early-19thC onwards) and the collectable ’smoker’s cow’ - see illustrations.
Various combinations of elm, ash, yew, beech, birch and fruit woods. Occasionally mahogany. Elm used almost invariably for seats; beech common for legs and, until the 19thC nearly always yew for hoops.
Selection of 19th C chairs: A, Mendlesharn,- B, smoker’s bow C, farmhouse kitchen; D, child’s Windsor highchair; F rope-back kitchen chair.
All parts dowelled. Legs and back uprights always separate (legs never continuous with uprights above). Seats split, not sawn (saw marks indicate a later date). Sticks taper-turned on a pole lathe, hence of irregular
thickness. (Machine-cut stocks have an even shape and are not tapered.) Hoops steam-bent into shape. On single chairs, the hoop passes through seat and is split and wedged underneath. On machine-made versions
this does not occur  sometimes the hoop does not pierce all the way through the seat.
Carving and piercing on splats. Turning on legs and some arm supports.
Paint common in 18thC, most fashionably green, sometimes black (japanned). Otherwise polish; some left unfinished for outdoor use. Stain and varnish used in 19thC.
VALUES
Plenty of variation. Good early and hoop back Windsors are expensive, few selling for less than four figures. 19thC versions correspondingly less. Harlequin sets of all ages are common and, if matched well, no less
expensive than an identical set. Few post-1900 sets fetch less than four figures.
Yew, crinoline stretcher, cabriole legs, comb back, Gothic splat and arched back all enhance the value.

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.

CHAIRS: REGENCY
About 1800-1840
(extending several years either side of the Regency itself, 1811-1820). Chairs made between about 1825 and 1840 are often referred to as ‘late Regency’ or ‘late classical’; those of the 1830s occasionally still ‘William
IV’).
Usually very elegant chairs, some based on previous Sheraton types, but many inspired by Ancient Greek klismos chairs, with their distinctive sabre legs. Nelson’s naval victories resulted in the inclusion of many naval emblems in furniture design after 1803, and in chairs is apparent in back supports carved as twisted rope. This has earned all sabre-leg chairs of Regency date the popular name ‘Trafalgars’, though correctly this only refers to those with rope designs.
Sabre-leg chairs: Flush-sided (will lie completely flat when on side), with two horizontal rails forming back supports set between side uprights. Uprights with neatly scrolled ends forming continuous curving lines with side Sheraton-style painted armchair, about 1810.
Regency ‘Trafalgar’ Chair Wwith rope back .sabre legs and drop-in seat.
seat rails and legs. Sometimes continuous reeding present on front/upper surface. Front legs of sabre form (see illus.), rear legs also outward-curving, but less pronounced. No stretchers. Crest rail may be deep and
flat, often with restrained carved or inlaid decoration. Lower support usually carved and pierced (in a great variety of designs). Either rail can be of twisted rope form, sometimes bordering section of other shape.
Cane-seated armchair similar to Trafalgar chair on previous page, with typically strolled arms.
Shallow, removable, upholstered seat (sometimes canework with squab cushion instead) contained within side rails and flush with rail at front and back. Armchairs with bold scroll arms curving down from lower part of crest rail several inches from front, but sometimes resting directly on it. Small rosette may conceal counter-sunk screw or pin on outer side of knee, strengthening seat rail joint. May not be original, but added later to disguise a mend.
Deep, broad crest rails over-riding side uprights introduced about 1820, though most post-1830. Later examples undecorated and may be curved in section for greater comfort. Actually a more correct interpretation of klis-rnos chair-back than previous form and known at the time as ‘Grecian’.
Many chairs made with similar backs but stuff-over seats and straight, tapering legs. These could be ring-turned or reeded or, after 1820, fluted, becoming thicker and clumsier with time.
Arms were of the previous Sheraton type, by about 1830 always curving straight down into the front legs.
Country versions with straight tapering legs of square section, still joined by stretchers, and planked, dished seats. Popular design for lower back support a double rail enclosing wooden balls. Some rope turning will
occasionally be found.
After 1835 designs became noticeably fussier, with shaped and carved crest rails, heavy legs and deep, moulded show-wood seat rails. Sometimes drop-in seats of sabre-leg chair type were incorporated.
Predominantly rosewood and mahogany. Elm, oak and fruitwoods for country chairs; beech
William IV chair with broad crest-rail and straight legs.
fiegency chair retaining elegant rope back but with straight hared legs.
Because of their relatively simple structure and design, a set of straight-legged chairs of this date is easy to enlarge by ’scrambling’  taking all the chairs apart, removing one or two members from each one  sufficient to make up a number of ‘new’ chairs  and by replacing the missing parts with new timber. The resulting set does not include a single totally new chair, but a large number of ‘repaired’ ones. This practice can be very difficult to detect without examining every member and comparing it with corresponding members in the rest of the set for colour, grain, finish, knocks, and so on. If openly done, and within reason, and reflected in the price, scrambling is not always
unacceptable.
and pine for painted pieces. Brass and ebony used for inlay.
Sabre-leg chairs: Back and seat rails tenoned into sides. Flat crest rails sometimes veneered. Legs and side rails cut from single piece of timber, the wood sawn across the grain, thereby creating structural weakness,
particularly below the knees. Check there for signs of repair. (Because of this design flaw and the technical difficulties involved in the cutting, country makers appear to have avoided sabre legs altogether.)
Drop-in seats sit on pegs rising from centre of front and back rails. Stuff-over seats rare and probably indicate provincial manufacture. Straight-leg chairs. Standard seat frame construction was employed.
On both types, the over-riding top rail is rebated into front of uprights and screwed from behind. Holes filled with dowels.
Ebony stringing and inlay on crest rails from about 1805-1815, thereafter brass. Alternatively, shallow carving flush with surface. Most popular motif for both types, the anthemion. Palm leaves also popular.
Gilt decoration on ebonised (black-painted) surfaces, mostly as simple lines and small rosettes.
Some sabre-legs painted and grained to simulate more valuable rosewood.
Polish, paint.
Always popular, so, despite sets being relatively common, prices are level with those of earlier Hepplewhite and Sheraton chairs.
Desirable features which raise the price include solid rosewood and brass inlay.
Grained beech (of which sets abound) cost considerably less than rosewood.
Late Regency/William IV, with over-riding crest rails, used to be a cheaper option, but they have become more popular.
Regency beech chair turned to simulate bamboo.
MOCK-BAMBOO
The exotic furnishings of the Prince of Wales’s Brighton Pavilion encouraged a fashion for simulated bamboo chairs made in beech and pine and painted in cream, brown or pastel colours. All members are turned, with
double collars representing the nodes of the cane. With caned seats, simple arrangements of verticals and horizontals forming the backs, and tapering legs splaying outwards towards the foot, these delicate little chairs were intended for occasional or bedroom use, not for dining. Crudely gilded modern versions have been made since the thirties for use by the hotel and catering trades.

CHAIRS: HEPPLEWHITE
About 1775-1790
Chair designs from George Hepplewhite’s Guide (1788).
Light and elegant chairs, greatly influenced by the designs of the architect Robert Adam who advocated the use of neo-classical decorative motifs, light coloured woods and upholstery, and painted or inlaid decoration.
Chairs of this date are popularly called Hepplewhite because so many furniture craftsmen followed George Hepplewhite’s Cabinet Maker & Upholsterer’s Guide. Published in 1788, this was the standard guide to style for a wide range of simple domestic furniture in the neoclassical fashion.
The most distinctive feature was the shape of the back. This could be oval, hoop, heart or shield. Facings usually moulded; splats delicate and less centralized, with emphasis on continuous verticals rather than curves and scrolls. Popular filler designs include wheat-sheaf and neo-classical urns, drapery, swags, anthemions and lyres. Hepplewhite is credited with the first use of the most common motif, Prince of Wales feathers. A slightly concave back  to fit the sitter’s back comfortably  is often a sign of quality and authenticity.
Seats were drop-in or stuff-over. Both may have serpentine front rail; latter a deep serpentine apron.
Sides often curve inwards towards the back. Dished seats introduced about 1780. Canework seats on painted or japanned chairs, with loose, flat squab cushions.
Changes in dress fashion allowed narrower seats and arm supports rising almost from the front corners in a concave curve to meet the rests about half way back.
Legs were straight and tapering, tapering on the inside edge only, and mostly slender, ending in delicate spade feet. Can be plain, moulded, reeded or fluted, with or without stretchers.
Mahogany; satinwood for finest quality pieces. Beech or birch for painted and japanned chairs. Oak, elm, beech, birch and local woods still used by country makers. (For details on gilded and upholstered-back)
Adam-style chairs
Mostly standard methods employed (see p. 59). The shoe was dispensed with for shield, heart and oval backs; instead, rear legs were extended and waisted to join back several
I inches above seat. joint secured by screws concealed with dowels. Rounded lower part of shields and ovals made in mitred parts; mouldings help to conceal joins.
Low-relief carving. Painted decoration of flowers, ribbons, some neo-classical urns, garlands, garrya husks on satinwood; on black-japanned or pastel-coloured, painted ground.
Polish. Paint, japanning.
VALUES
Prices for quality singles mostly in four figures, provincial and country versions only three. Pairs and sets: multiply as for Chippendale (details, see p. 60).
Good points: shield-shaped backs, Prince of Wales feathers, elegantly tapering legs without stretchers.
Edwardian interpretation of Hepplewhite designs.
Hepplewhite-style mahogany shield-back chair with carved wheat-ears, about 1780-1790.
Late-18thC mahogany hoop-back chair.
PROVINCIAL DESIGNS
Provincial and country versions were often plain  no mouldings on legs and back. Most had stretchers, unadventurous splat (no carving). Camel-backs with humped crest-rail (reminiscent of Chippendale) quite common.
Hepplewhite chair has been much reproduced. These imitations are often identifiable by faulty proportions (for example, shield too wide); flat rather than concave backs; legs tapering on both edges.

CHAIRS — Chippendale, provincial and country
Trying to arrange such a wide array of chairs in quality order is difficult, and dating even more so. Colour is important and personal preference plays a stronger part in assessment than for London-made pieces which
can be judged against known standards. What is technically not very successful (i.e. 152) can prove very appealing to live with, hence values are surprisingly uniform. Sets of chairs of this period cost about six times the single price for a set of four, and around ten times for a set of six.
One could speculate that the splat is a mixture of Chippendale (top half) and pre-Chippendale (bottom half), but the result is successful. The top rail flows convincingly into the splat. The shell is a pleasing touch and the cabrioles are very well made. The whole effect is successful. c. 1750
Interesting provincial example. The maker has obviously seen a high quality example but has been afraid to do more than a pastiche of the splat design; rightly because his shoulder supports to the legs illustrate his
limitations. What he has got gloriously right is the broad low back and big square seat that no Victorian would ever dream of producing. c. 1760
In oak, with fully upholstered seat. The maker has a reasonable grasp of the Chippendale idea but the splat is a little too broad and the effect is flat and stiff. Nevertheless a pleasing chair. c. 1760
A frequently encountered design which one might describe as provincial rather than strict country — in other words, rather a solid, solemn effect with neither the high decoration of the city example nor the character of
the country. c. 1760    Set of six $2, 000
Made in walnut at a time when most chairs of this quality were in mahogany. The splat is very successful — no carving except some simple gouging at the ends of the top rail. The deep rounded front seat rail and the
solid but elegant cabrioles make this a fine chair. It could pass for a chair from New York State of a slightly later date, and no doubt many do. 1750

CHAIRS — Chippendale, cabriole leg
Chippendale designed many chairs with cabriole legs. Country makers continued to use the cabriole with the newer type of Chippendale splat for some time, while a hundred years or so later Victorians made a wide range of imitations (see Chairs — Victorian reproductions).
An elegant chair in which the moulded cabriole legs have been refined down as far as possible without either losing the cabriole effect or damaging the overall proportions. This together with the good broad shaped front seat, the carefully executed ‘Gothic’ splat, all point to a chair of quality. c. 1760
A poor photograph of a reasonable quality cabriole leg chair. The splat is typical Chippendale. It is restrained and, as it is not covered in carving like 146, does not fall into the grand class. Nevertheless, with its good carving, well-proportioned cabriole legs decorated with cabochon and leaves, the use of a decorated edge to the scroll round the shoulder and the top of the rail it is a highly desirable chair. The scroll foot is excellently carved. c. 1760
Chippendale mahogany chair with pleasing splat, good cabrioles and carving that is very similar to pre-Chippendale chairs, moulded sides and carved top rail — a pleasant chair. c. 1760
Of less quality than the last example and interesting to compare them. The simple shell on the back rail, the less complicated splat and the claw which does not quite grasp the ball, all point to a more simple (provincial) approach, indeed the legs and back rail have not changed since the earlier part of the century, only the splat pronounces it Chippendale. c. 1765
Pre-Chippendale chairs
The Chippendale style didn’t suddenly happen with the publication of the Director in 1754 — it evolved. These chairs, all of which have some of the features associated with Chippendale’s designs, might usefully be grouped as pre-Chippendale. Many of them seem to contain a mixture of walnut and mahogany designs.