William and Mary period  walnut armchair -  oak Queen Anne period country chair - Walnut Queen Anne period corner chair

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  ‘boyes and crownes’. These chairs, taken singly, are still somewhat undervalued although sets are a specialist demand and command high prices. The back and seat were probably caned originally.
Three more late seventeenth century country chairs - c.1690 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 construction but the variations possible in the turning of them.
Price Range: Single $30  $40 Pair $70  $90
Value points: Quality of execution and carving of back
Late seventeenth century  William and Mary period  walnut armchair, c.1695. 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.
Price Range: $120  $150 for this quality. Chairs of this period tend to be uncommon and wide variations occur depending on condition and quality.
Value points: Walnut
Balancing of design of arms and stretchers  Quality of turning
William and Mary period walnut chair c.1700 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 by foreign 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 seventeenth century and the finely carved cabrioles of the eighteenth century is to be seen. The Victorians were fond of making hall chairs of this type but usually lost proportion in legs and stretchers.
An oak Queen Anne period country chair, c.1710. The back splat is of the shape typically associated with the period. The termination of the uprights is very interesting because the line has been carried into the top rail
and over to a pointed termination where the splat joins it. The front rail is rather heavy, but shaped, and the cabriole legs are gently curved, ending in simple pad feet. The rather rigid back legs and lack of rake
emphasize the country origin. The solid seat has a typical shallow moulding around it, probably originally fitted to retain a squab cushion.
A superb walnut armchair of about 1720 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.
Price Range: $500  $700
Queen Anne period walnut chair c.1710 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.
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.
Price Range: $100 - $150. Generally a man’s taste.
Value points: Quality of execution, i.e. proportion, grace of cabrioles, shell motifs etc.
All legs cabrioles  (sometimes the back and side legs are left straight or turned, detracting from value).
A Queen Anne period country walnut chair, c.1710, 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 seat was 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.
Price Range: Pair $80 - $110 Four $250 - $400 Six $500 - $700
Value points: Quality of cabriole and back
Note the cabrioles on this example are slightly bandy and knee (top) is too heavy for the foot.

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.

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.

AMERICAN CHAIRS About 1620-1690
Stools: Maple, oak, pine.
Wainscot chairs: Oak frames, pine panels in backs and seats.
Stick chairs: Maple, ash, oak frames; rush seats.
Peg-leg: Legs are turned or, more often, roughly rounded with a draw-knife, and driven through holes bored in the seat, so that their upper ends project very slightly above the surface; the fixing is tightened by driving a small wedge from above into the end grain of the leg.
An oak ‘Carver’ chair, about 1650.
Most of the seat furniture surviving from this period dates from after 1650 and chiefly comprises stools, chairs and armchairs.
Stools: I Fairly crude variations of the milking stool or ‘peg-leg’ type. 2 Joyned’ or joint-stools, also called coffin stools because a pair was often pressed into service to form a bier.
Chairs: I Rare, early ‘wainscot’ types with panelled backs and seats have turned legs, but were made by joiners. 2′Stick’chairs made entirely by turners. The Brewster armchair has spindles under seat, the Carver does not. 3 ‘Slat-backs’, also stick type, have shaped slats set between the uprights of the backs, and turned legs.
Long benches of this type were much less common in America than in England and Holland, and should be accepted as of American origin only if the evidence is very strong indeed.
Peg-leg stool with wedge.
Joined stools and chairs: Seat rails and stretchers have tenons cut at their ends which slot into mortises in the square sections, top and bottom, of the turned legs; the joint is secured with pegs driven through holes to penetrate the tenons (not to be confused with peg-leg construction, see above). The seat is similarly pegged to the seat rail.
Turned leg, mortised to receive tenons.
Stick: Stretchers, turned or rounded by hand, are driven into holes bored in the legs. Shaped slats, thin enough to be bent to curve outwards, are set in mortises cut in uprights of the back. In early armchairs, the arms are turned bars that slot into holes in the uprights and the arm supports. No pegging needed.
Wainscot chairs: Carved top rails occur only rarely, e.g. one at the Winterthur.
Stick chairs: Varied turnings include mushroom’ finials to arm supports. Slats shaped to several different patterns.
Oiled and waxed, varnished or painted.
Joined stools and wainscot chairs now too expensive to sit on. Peg-leg stools difficult to date, but good for a gamble. Stick and slat-back chairs can still turn up unexpectedly at bargain prices.
American Chairs   About 1690-1725
Black-painted William Mary banister-back armchair, about 1710.
American interpretations of the European and English (Charles II and William and Mary) baroque style are expressed in several new types of seating.
Slat-back chairs (see p. 293) continued to be made in great variety. New types included: square-backed Cromwell chairs with turned front legs, the seats and back upholstered, before 1700; a small number of high-backed chairs in the Charles II (Anglo-Flemish) style, with caned backs and seats, turned or scrolled legs, the armchairs with ‘ram’s horn’ arms, before 1700. Corner chairs with turned members and bowed backs, also in small quantities, from 1700. Banister-back chairs, from 1700 (see DECORATION). The day-bed  a couch for lounging on  before 1700 (see CONSTRUCTION). The New York waggon seat from 1720 (also made in other regions, such as Connecticut, Massachusetts); a crude prototype of the chair-back settee that served as seating in the house and, when lashed to a wagon, converted it into a makeshift carriage.
WAGGON SEATS
The waggon seat continued to be made well into the 19thC. Many offered for sale, though not fakes, are not as old as they are sometimes claimed to be. The hard use to which they were put means that early examples are seldom in pristine condition.
Replacement stool seats
Many experts (though not all) reject stools where the seat is secured by pegs driven in at the corners so that they penetrate the end grain of the legs, threatening to split them; such positioning, it is argued, occurs only when the original seat has been replaced clumsily.
Pegs on joint stool. The peg on the right is correctly placed.
Frames: Oak, walnut, beech, ash, maple. Slats: Hickory or ash (easily bent to shape when still green).
Turned spindles: juniper.
Upholstery (for Cromwell’ chairs): Leather or ‘Turkey work’  a hand-knotted imitation of Turkish carpets.
Caning (for baroque chairs and day-beds): Split and woven rattan cane.
A large Turkey work Carpet for the table and two doz. arm’d Cain Chairs are mentioned in the journals of the Burgesses of Virginia, 1702-12, in reference to the furnishing of the Council Chamber of the Capitol (first building) at Williamsburg.
High-backed baroque chairs: Front legs, whether turned or scrolled, often socketed into a flat seat-frame, instead of being jointed with mortise-and-tenon; likewise, the cresting rail of the back may be set on to uprights, instead of between them.
The day-bed: Essentially a chair with elongated seat and additional legs; the back, or bed-head, often hinged and fitted with a ratchet for adjustment.
Baroque chairs: Members turned, cresting rails arched and carved, ‘Spanish’ (also known as ‘Braganza’) feet shaped and carved.
Cromwell chairs: Varied turnings; ‘barley twists’ (spirals) were known as Crosswicks after the district near
Philadelphia where this speciality was practised.
Spiral twist leg.
Banister chairs: The back composed of split banisters (also known as balusters), produced by sawing the wood in half, lengthwise, lightly glueing the two halves together, turning on the lathe to the desired shape, then splitting them apart again. They are then set into the upper and lower rails of the chair-back with their flat sides facing inwards, so that no protuberances make for discomfort.
Split banisters: right, length of timber sawn in half, far right, halves reassembled for turning on lathe.
Right, rounded face; far right, flat face.
Baroque types often stained black and varnished, or japanned in imitation of oriental lacquer. Rural types oiled and waxed or painted.
Cromwell, high-backed and corner chairs, also day-beds, rare and highly priced. Best buy: individual slat-backs.
William & Mary maple day-bed, about 1725.
front leg socketed into seat frame.
Growing wealth created a demand for comfort, even luxury. Between 1725 and 1760, Boston alone gave employment to 38 chair-makers and 23 upholsterers. Regional differences became more marked in the work of Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Newport - the chief centres; for instance, New England side-chairs were taller and thinner than those of New York,
Attributions in this period are made by comparing examples with makers’ labels, for example William Savery of
Philadelphia: but names are sometimes bandied about for no better reason than to boost the price.
American Chairs  1725-1790
Left, Queen Anne walnut side-chair New York, Queen Anne walnut.
The Queen Anne style - merging, from 1760 into Chippendale - emphasised the S-shaped curve of the cabriole leg, a rounded seat and a swan-neck back with shaped centre splat (’fiddle back’) - a feature seen in many country-made chairs still retaining turned legs. In more sophisticated examples, the splats are ergonomically designed to suit the human spine.
Right, Chippendale mahogany side-chair, Philadelphia, about 1765-1770.
In the Chippendale period, the splat was fretted and pierced, and the cabriole leg slowly gave way to the Marlboro’ - straight, square in section but chamfered on the inside angle. Easy chairs have draught-excluding wings; a child’s version in solid timber has a hole in the seat to hold a pot.
In the 1780s, Daniel Trotter of Philadelphia was probably the maker of ladder-back chairs - sophisticated versions in mahogany of the country slat-back, with shaped and pierced slats and Marlboro’ legs. Country chairs of Windsor type, made with spindles of green timber socketed into bent frames, succeeded earlier stick types. Windsor settees were an alternative to the settle, high or low in the back, boarded or panelled.
Sophisticated settees; two main types:
Above, Chippendale soft, Philadelphia, 1775. The ‘chair-back’ or ‘frame’, conceived as two or three chair-backs conjoined.
Day-beds continued to be popular in the Queen Anne period, with fashionable splatbacks and cabriole legs.
Native maple and cherrywood substituted for walnut, the most fashionable wood 1725-50, and for mahogany, 1750-90. Upholstery materials ranged from leather and local worsted cloth to imported damasks, velvets and brocades. Stools, promoted to the parlour, had seats that, whether- or drop-in, were often covered in needlework made by the lady of the house.
Craftsmen did not at first trust the strength of cabriole legs with no underframing, and until 1740, many  in New England especially  continued to be united with turned stretchers.
As a means of joining the cabriole leg to the front of a curved seat, the mortise-and-tenon joint could be made to work only at the risk of weakening it, as too much of it had to be cut away to achieve the shape. Some makers compensated for this weakness by fitting a block inside. Others used a halving joint (a half-thickness of the side rail overlapping and glued to a half-thickness of the front rail). A cavity was then cut in the joint to receive the square at the top of the leg, shaped to a dovetail or tenon.
After 1760, the balloon shape of the seat was discarded in favour of an angular one, and in mahogany chairs of the Chippendale period, a conventional mortise-and-tenon joint is usual.
In Philadelphia in the mid-18thC, the regular method of joining the side-rails to the rear uprights was by means of a through-tenon, secured with pegs driven through holes in the side-rail. If the ends of the pegs and the through-tenon are visible, this is a sign of Philadelphian origin.
Queen Anne: Shells carved on knees of cabriole legs and often at the centre of the cresting rail which, in many New York examples, is pierced with two spaces flanking the shell. Feet were plain pads, carved lion paws or claw-and-ball. The Queen Anne style survived in Newport to the end of the Colonial period.
Chippendale: Splats fretted and pierced. Marlboro’ legs headed by Chinese fretted brackets, but cabriole legs with claw-and-ball feet persisted; in New York, they were carved with foliage down to the feet.
Queen Anne: Walnut veneers often used in splats and seat rails. Others with japanned decoration, usually in gold on a black ground.
Chippendale: Mahogany seldom used in veneer form on chairs. Walnut and mahogany surfaces rubbed down with sand or brick-dust, varnished, rubbed down again and wax-polished.
cabriole-legged types tend to fetch more money than Marlboro’, but much depends on detail. Windsor chairs made in great quantity and variety, but not cheap.
CORRECT CLAWS
In a well-carved claw-and-ball foot, the claw should appear to be grasping the ball with the strength of an eagle clutching its prey  a feature naturalistically rendered in Philadelphia, where the ball is flatter than in the rather square New York version. Newport claws have been unflatteringly described as limp. The differences are sufficiently marked to be acceptable criteria when making attributions.
Claw) and ball tool from a Chippendale side:-chair, about 1765-70.
CABRIOLE LEGS
Wing chairs with cabriole legs tend to command higher prices than ones with straight legs. Many of the latter type (A) have been glamorized by sawing off the legs and replacing them with cabriole legs (B), using dowels and/or hefty screws. The head of a screw may be visible but is more likely to have been countersunk and camouflaged with stopping wax. Dowels are out of sight, but if a flap of the upholstery is carefully lifted (C), it is possible to prove whether the cabriole leg and the square above it are of one continuous piece of wood, as they should be. If they are not, a human hair, pulled from your head and held taut, will penetrate the join (marked with arrows) that should not be there.
Wing chair with substituted cabriole legs.

CHAIRS: VICTORIAN UPHOLSTERED
About  1840-1900
Typical mid-Victorian lady’s drawing-room chair.
Left, a late-Victorian gentleman’s chair with scrolled arms, rounded back, straight
A’squared-up’ version 0/ the 1880’s with  machineproduced carving.
Turned legs and arm supports (the latter sometimes as a row of spindles).
CHAIRS: CORNER
Mahogany, walnut, occasionally rosewood. Stained beech and birch on later cheaper versions and for underframes. Sometimes frame of cast iron.
About 1710-1770 and about 1890-1915
Early-18thC corner chair.
Standard methods employed (see VICTORIAN BALLOON-BACKS, p. 66, and OTHER 19THC AND EARLY 20THC TYPES, p. 67). Legs structurally weak, so look for signs of new staining around repaired joints. Almost
inevitably re-upholstered, not always correctly. Should have plain seat, padded armrests and deep buttoning on the back and inside of arms only. Note that the back. buttoning starts above the waistline.
Carving: Occasionally floral or classical inlay on crest rails of squared-up versions.
French polish.
VALUES
Only the best quality, most curvaceous examples fetch more than three figures. Very many examples of all types are within the average buyer’s reach. Always take the cost of re-upholstering and fabric and trimmings
into account when negotiating.
Watch out for the new wood that characterizes increasing numbers of reproductions. These may look impressive at a glance but they lack patination and will probably have insubstantial foam upholstery.
PRIE DIEU
A very popular occasional drawing-room chair, ostensibly designed for prayer. Tall, narrow, straight back with flat top and T-shaped upholstery. Sometimes bordered by (fashionably twist) turned columns. Generally
cabriole legs on castors but later versions with straight, turned legs. Often covered with Berlin woolwork, a form of needlework popular with Victorian ladies.
Peculiar to the 18thC, and to the late Victorian; Edwardian period, corner chairs are thought by some to have been designed as gentlemen’s writing chairs. Nearly always single, only rarely seen in pairs. Despite their
awkward and uncomfortable appearance, surprisingly numerous today. Country versions abound. Often made as commode chairs.
Incorporating many features of standard chairs of their day  vase-shaped splats, cabriole legs, turned stretchers and so on; during Queen Anne period, straight legs and stretchers and pierced splats for Chippendale period, but they exhibit specific features of their own too.
Most have stretchers; there can be four of equal height, one on each side, or they can be arranged on a cross.
The back, which extends around two sides, has two splats between three identical and always turned uprights, supporting a curved, flat, horizontal rail which broadens out slightly as it extends beyond the side uprights to form arm supports. The centre of the rail rises up a few inches to form a back support. A few of these chairs have a much taller, shaped back support, in which case they are called ‘barber’s chairs’. Virtually all have drop-in seats.
On early versions, the front leg only may be cabriole, the other three being turned to match the uprights above.
As with all country-made chairs of the 18thC, design motifs may be mixed  Queen Anne splats for example, might be used with later straight legs.
Edwardian ‘revival’ versions were sometimes made of dark mahogany in Chippendale style (see p. 56) with straight legs, but more often in light mahogany with spindly, turned legs, stretchers and delicate pierced
splats. Some had raised, ornamental cresting. The seat could be drop-in; or fixed, with flattish upholstery set in one or two inches from the edge. Some country versions were made in oak with rushseats.
Walnut, mahogany and oak.
Standard practices employed. Uprights dowelled into ‘arms’ of the top rail.
Restrained carving on the best examples.
VALUES
Walnut Queen Anne cabriole leg versions are the most sought after.

CHAIRS: UPHOLSTERED, WING (OR EASY)
About 1700 onwards
Deriving from adjustable-back French sleeping chairs of the 1670s and made in virtually standard 18thC form at various times until the present day, wing chairs were for relaxation, not formal use. The wings protected the sitter from draughts.
About 1700-1750: Cabriole legs, either plain with pad feet and turned stretchers, or with carved knees, claw-and-ball feet and (usually) no stretchers. Rear square legs raked backwards. Until about 1730, a marked divide between back and wings, with high curved back, and wings curving sharply down to top of bold, outward-scrolling arms. After 17 30, wings and back seem to follow one continuous curve. Two types of scroll arm.
Plump upholstery with deep, loose seat cushion.
About 1750-1780: Legs, straight, plain and square, sometimes moulded, linked by stretchers. Occasionally with blind fret carving of Chinese or Gothic nature. Back straight or waved. Wings of equal height to back.
Outward roll of arms less pronounced. Padding and seat cushion less fat.
Mid-18th century wing chair with straight legs and stretchers.
About 1780-1810: Straight, plain, tapering legs without stretchers. Sometimes on castors. Narrower look overall, with flat top and comparatively straight wings and arms.
Victorian: Various simple curving outlines and stumpy turned bun feet on castors. Reproduction Queen Anne with thin cabrioles around the end of the century.
MATERIALS
Walnut and mahogany for legs. Beech and other softwoods for under frame. Legs (and stretchers) were the only visible wooden parts, otherwise fully upholstered.
Standard methods employed. Carving on knees sometimes hipped into seat.
Repairs likely, particularly to wings. Check for loose joints. Marriages of old legs to new frames not uncommon. At least part of the underframe should be visible for inspection. Upholstery unlikely to be original.
Some carving on knees, legs and feet until about 1770.
Polish. Fashionable upholstery fabrics included silk, silk velvet, needlework, leather, silk damask. Early examples were edged with braid; after about 1750 with close brass-nailing. Gimp or tasselled fringes in Queen
Victoria’s reign.
VALUES
18thC chairs certainly in four figures, some early ones almost into five, but decreasing towards three according to date and simplicity of design. Original, usable upholstery is a considerable bonus.
REPRODUCTIONS
Many, many 20thC reproductions. Apart from some exaggerated Queen Anne versions produced before and between the wars, most lack robust quality of originals. Their appearance is not helped by insubstantial
synthetic upholstery materials.

CHAIRS: UPHOLSTERED
About 1720-1840
Queen Anne side-chair, about 17.30.
Surviving upholstered chairs made for drawing-room use date mostly from after 1720 and, although originally made in sets, are more often found today in pairs, or even singles.
Many resemble contemporary dining-chairs in the design of legs and stretchers and the general shape of arms, but have fully upholstered seats (sometimes with a show-wood rail), fully or partly upholstered backs and mostly open arms with padded rests. Some (particularly those with cabriole legs) will have shaped and carved rear legs - a sign of high quality.
Most common types:
Mid-18thC side-chair with fine pierced stretchers.
Side-chairs (without arms), about 1720-1770: Straight, flat, upholstered backs, often with slightly rounded corners. Occasionally serpentine top around 1750.
Spoon-back or ‘Compass-seated’ chairs, about 1720-1740: Shepherd’s crook arms, cabriole legs, waisted ’spoon’ backs.
Chippendale style, about 1750-1775: Low, square backs and broad, square seats. Either ‘French’ with undulating seat rails, scrolled arms, cabriole legs (the grandest are highly carved  and sometimes gilded  with separate ‘escutcheon’ back) or ‘Gainsborough’ with straight legs and stretchers, arm supports sweeping down from rest to front of seat. May have Gothic or chinoiserie carved detail.
Neo-classical Adam-type, about 17701800: Often highly carved and painted or gilded. Oval backs, arms usually sweeping down to meet turned and fluted or reeded legs; curved and shaped seats. Seat rails were also often reeded, interspersed with paterae and so on.
`French Hepplewhite’, about 1775 to 1800: Delicate version of French rococo armchairs, often with a shaped back separate from the seat.
Regency forms, about 1800-1830: French Empire type with continuous rounded backs
forming arms and sabre legs. Or, distinctive continuous U-shaped seat and arms with plain, low, rectangular back.
Walnut, mahogany; rosewood during Regency. Beech when painted or gilded (mostly from 1770 onwards) and for underframes.
Standard methods employed. See full details on p. 57-59.
Upholstery is unlikely to be original throughout. The number of empty tack holes in the frame may indicate the extent of former upholstery. Remember that correctly shaped padding and authentic reproductions of
textiles and trimmings of the right date will greatly enhance a chair’s appearance (and maybe increase its value). Perfectionists would advocate the use of traditional upholstery techniques and materials, too.
As for side-chairs, but often more elaborate and extensive carving.
Polish, paint, gilding.
Mostly in the lower half of four-figure sums, decreasing with younger age. The grandest, highly carved and gilded chairs with good provenance, are at a premium. Period upholstery  if in usable condition (particularly needlework and tapestry) -will add considerably to the value.
Left mahogany ‘Gainsborough, armchair, about 1760-1770.
Right, neo-classical gilded drawing-room chairs in the style of Robert Adam.
Armchair in ‘French Hepplewhite style.
The introduction of the coiled spring for upholstery in the late 1820s brought greater comfort and a more rounded appearance to padding. A great variety of upholstered furniture became available, often sold in suites comprising a sofa, or chaise longue, a pair of easy chairs (one gentleman’s, with arms; one lady’s, without) and six side-chairs.
The majority were in a curvaceous rococo style, with moulded show-wood frames, rounded and waisted ’spoon’ backs and short.
Armchair with continuous ous curves from  arm to foot,
scrolling cabriole legs. Arms, when present, formed as one continuous scroll with front leg, bulging over the knee and ending in ball-like ‘French’ scroll feet. Low seats; deep naturalistic carving on knees and centre of
top and front seat rails. Always on castors, sometimes of white or brown porcelain (a post-1850 feature). Distinctive convex curve evolved for slightly outward-splaying back legs.
Later spoon-backs (post 1870) may have straight, turned legs.
Occasionally a separate padded oval back supported on carved, inward-curving extensions of back legs.
Squared-up versions with straight, turned legs and arched backs appeared around 1860, becoming increasingly heavy with carving of classical rather naturalistic nature. Deep mouldings replaced by incised lines.
Variations abounded after 1880, their only common features being straighter contours.

ANTIQUE CHAIRS: CHIPPENDALE

Thomas Chippendale - rococo chairs, chinoiserie and Gothic chairs - Queen Anne chairs - mid-18thC chairs - Chippendale chairs reproductions
Chippendale chairs were originally produced in 1750-1780 by Thomas Chippendale.
Thomas Chippendale’s Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, published in three editions (1754, 1755 and 1762) had a historic influence on mid-18thC chair design. In it, Chippendale applied popular rococo chairs, chinoiserie and Gothic chairs motifs to already fashionable shapes for both grand and simple household furniture. Few Chippendale designs were copied precisely. Chair makers at all levels -London, provincial and country - adapted and modified their designs to suit their own chairs, and their clients’ tastes and pockets.
Lower back Chippendale chairs than previously, with serpentine crest rails, generally ending in outward-curving scrolls. (Rounded shoulders rare.) Carved and pierced splats of varied design including rococo C-scrolls, ribbons (’ribbandback’ in 18thC terminology), Gothic arches, tracery and quatrefoils, scrolls and many other. Because of poor communications, chair makers outside London did not have full access to new designs. Thus provincial designs of this time may still retain stretchers, even when made in mahogany with the ‘new’ pierced splats and winged crestings. Similarly, Queen Anne chairs are still found on mid-18thC chairs with straight, Chippendale-style legs.
The time-lag between the evolution of a new style in fashionable London and its adoption by makers elsewhere gradually diminished as communications improved, but even so, in some areas local
preferences remained strong and individual types and designs of chair persisted for several decades.
Transitional chair will Queen Anne legs and stretchers, but Serpentine rail and pierced splat,
Above and below left, designs from Chippendale’s Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director (1754).
interlacing patterns. ‘Chinese’ chairs with Chinese fretwork instead of a splat with a pagoda-shaped cresting. Space under arms of chairs sometimes similarly filled with fretwork. (Because of their fragility and because chinoiserie was often confined to bedrooms, not many of these chairs survive.)
Side uprights were flat and either plain or fluted. Carving not unknown, but unless of high quality and obviously by the same hand as the crest rail, be suspicious.
A design often seen today, but not illustrated in Chippendale’s Director, was the ladder-back, in which the pierced and carved horizontals echo the crest rail in shape and design. Thought to date from the 1760s
onwards.
Seats were flat and straight (dished seats not introduced for dining chairs until about 1750). Square corners with straight legs, rounded with cabrioles, the latter usually indicating an early date. Stuff-over (occasionally
with show-wood rail) or drop-in seats; stuff-over seats correctly finished with close brass nails, not gimp (a 19thC method).
Comfortably shaped arms with supports rising two thirds from back.
Front legs of Chippendale chairs could be cabriole, with foliate carving on knees and claw-and-ball feet, or, more commonly, straight, either plain or with simple mouldings. Sometimes chamfered inner edges. Blind fret-carving or legs composed of carved Gothic cluster columns occasionally seen on highest quality chairs. On both types, rear legs raked backwards. As a very general rule, the steeper the angle, the poorer the quality.
H-stretcher arrangement, the cross stretcher closer to the front than previously, with an additional higher back stretcher.
Corner brackets sometimes present at top of legs. Could be Chinese fret-work.
Mahogany was the fashionable wood for chair production with instantly identifiable when made in woods other than mahogany. Often less well-proportioned and slighter overall. Can have a top-heavy look. Simpler, less confident design of splats with very little, or no, carving. Legs often completely plain; cabrioles end in pad feet. Crudest versions may have wooden seat with side-to-side planking nailed to seat frame.
beech for stuff-over seat rails (see coNSTRUCTION). Oak, walnut, elm, ash and beech chairs were used too by country makers.
Victorian reproductions of Chippendale chairs.
Either rather clumsy mahogany chairs with too much, too ornate carving and bandy and too thin cabrioles ending in heavy claw-and-ball feet; or mean and spindly-looking with flat, shaped splats and no carving at all. Frequently ill-proportioned chairs with narrow seats, tallish backs and thin, shallow seat rails. Shoe-piece is often formed as part of seat rail. Rear legs seldom raked far back. On claw-and-ball feet, claw tends to perch on, rather than clutch, the ball.
More Chippendale chairs reproductions have been made of mid-18thC chairs than of any other period, but a distinction should be made between those ‘in the style of (as above) and genuine copies, whether intended to deceive or not. It was, and still is not uncommon for a good set of chairs to be enlarged. If this was done some time ago, it may be virtually impossible to identify the later chairs. However, as they were made from different timber, there will probably be a difference in weight.
Long sets of chairs were often numbered with incised Roman numerals on the seat rail. If these are present and are not consecutive, the set is obviously incomplete.
Occasionally, arms have been added to one or more single chairs in a run to make a more saleable set. Identify these by comparing the width of the seats  a true armchair is a few inches wider than a single.
The methods employed by London makers of the mid-18thC set the standards for virtually all wooden chair manufacturers until the present day. Principal features: With one exception, mortise-and-tenon joints through.
Modern reproductions of Chippendale chairs.
Modern chairs have a particular tendency to be smaller and narrower than originals, a necessity for many of today’s smaller dining rooms. If you are thinking of buying a set of old chairs to fit around a modern reproduction
table  or vice versa  it may well be worth marking out the floor to ensure that they all fit comfortably.

Typical Chippendale chair with cabriole legs and claw-and-ball feet. One quality oak armchair with pierced legs and ,stretchers.  Mahogany armchair with ‘Gothic’ splat.  Chinese’ chair Will pagoda cresting; ladder-backsimple provincial chair with wooden seat. 6 Victorian Chippendale reproductions.
Frame of side-chair; stretcher joints usually dove-tailed. Until about 1715, all joints pegged, but after that date those on backs and leg/stretcher joints only glued. Pegging on all joints appears on country-made furniture until much later.
Arms of chairs screwed to side seat rail and back uprights, the screws countersunk in a circular groove, their heads concealed by pegs or dowels. Pointed machine-made screws did not appear until about 1850 so earlier screws can be identified by their irregularities and blunt ends. If a hand-made or lathe-turned screw has been undisturbed since the 18thC, the wood around the head will probably be noticeably stained with rust.
Left, hand-cat screw; right, machine-cut screw.
The back splat tenons into the crest rail and into the shoe below, but is glued only at the top to allow some movement of the wood. The shoe is a separate piece of wood from seat rail. Sometimes the splat passes right through the shoe, tenoning into the rail below. On stuff-over seats, the shoe is removable to allow fabric to pass beneath and simply nailed on. A re-upholstered chair will therefore have more than one set of nail holes.
The crest rail over-rides the side uprights
when curving outwards, but is set between them on a chair with rounded shoulders. In this case, each upright is in two pieces.
Backs of chairs were un-decorated. In the 18thC they were designed to stand against the wall when not in use and in theory the backs were only seen by servants. This practice persisted even when chairs were more
often left around a central table  about 1830 onwards.
Drop-in seats were rebated and the frame strengthened by small, close-fitting triangular blocks glued into the corners.
Stuff-over chear seats with rails of beech or other softwood (beech being a softer and easier wood to hammer tacks into) were strengthened at front  and just occasionally at back too  with corner braces, strips of V2 inch/ 1.75 cm square sectioned wood about 4-6 inches/9-15 cm long which rebated into grooves cut in the rails. These have often been replaced at a later date with triangular blocks with a curving outer edge, screwed to all four corners. This was a post-1840 practice and will indicate either a later date or a later repair. If the latter, the grooves cut for the original braces will be clearly visible.
A stuff-over seat with a show-wood rail was also usually made of beech, the show-wood being either a strip of veneer or a carved (or gadrooned) moulding, glued and tacked on.
Fretwork brackets and railing of ‘Chinese’ (and some other) chairs were sometimes cut from laminated wood (a process normally associated with the 20thC). Layers of veneer were glued together, the grain of alternate
sheets running in opposite directions.
Early  Chippendale chairs added to either side of cabriole knees were simply glued on, therefore often missing or replaced. These were separate pieces of wood because cabrioles were cut from a single piece of wood and extra width at the top would have meant more wastage. Replacements are usually identified by slight difference in colour and grain of wood and by carving obviously by a different hand.
Straight legs are always united by stretchers, cabrioles never at this date.
Carving, principally on splats and top rails and knees of cabrioles.
19thC Chippendale chairs may be stained in parts to disguise the use of different batches of timber.
Value always depends on a combination of factors  well-proportioned correct design and quality of craftsmanship being the most obvious reasons for a high price. Repairs even when skilfully made  will detract from the value of the piece, especially if there are replacement parts.
The price of a good single chair of this period is often into four figures and in exceptional cases close to five. As a very general guide, a pair of chairs of any date is worth about three times as much as a single, a set of four six times, and a set of six or more at least ten times as much. Until fairly recently six was thought to be a desirable number for a set, but this has now increased to eight. Examine long sets carefully for ‘enlargements’.
A chair with arms will invariably be worth more than a similar chair without, though not as much as a pair of singles.
The value of sets of good Victorian or Edwardian reproductions of 18thC chairs has increased substantially in recent years. The price of each one may equal that of a single original chair, though the set as a whole will
be considerably less valuable than an original set of equal size.
The price of provincial and country Chippendale chairs is less predictable because of considerable variation in design, but such pieces seldom fetch more than the value of their more sophisticated counterparts.
If construction does not provide you with sufficient indication of date, look for genuine signs of wear.
The front stretcher and outer edges of the front legs will always show more signs of knocks than any other part. The undersides of the feet will be rubbed and the corners may be rough from constant knocks. The crest rail and uprights may show signs of repair where the chair has been damaged by incorrect handling.
It is, incidentally, always better to lift a chair by its seat, not its back or arms. Dirt and grease deposited by hands constantly lifting the chair will have stained the underside of the front seat and crest rails and will also have accumulated in the crevices of carving and around the joints. The undersides of seat rails on 19thC Chippendale copies were often stained to simulate dirt, but the handled areas will probably look lighter where the stain has rubbed off.

CHAIRS: PRE-CHIPPENDALE - Antique chairs furniture of early 18th century - French walnut chair - Queen Anne period chairs - Chippendale chairs - antique mahogany chair - chairs in this transitional style
Antique chairs furniture of early 18th century belong a transitional phase, its most significant feature being the introduction of mahogany  hard, richly coloured and ideal for carving  following the destruction of the French walnut chair in the exceptionally hard winter of 1709. The grandest furniture of this time was made in the ponderous classical style of the architect William Kent; regular household furniture retained the simple, elegant lines of the Queen Anne period chairs, and combined them with some of the ‘new features’ now thought of as ‘Chippendale’.
Solid and substantial early 18th century chairs with broad seats and squatter and broader cabrioles than before, typically with claw-and-ball, sometimes ‘hairy paw’ feet. Winged serpentine rail characteristic of Chippendale chairs now started to appear but it was less elegant, with protruding, scrolling corners, or shoulders were rounded, dipping sharply into centre of crest rail. Splats were pierced, often ribbed and splaying out towards the top. Carving on the knees was often hipped into the seat rail. Drop-in or stuff-over seats, sometimes with show-wood rails.
Early 18th century chairs are mainly mahogany, but still some made from walnut (as stocks lasted), even for’mahoganystyle’ chairs.
Robust antique mahogany chair of the 1740s reflecting the ponderous architectural style of William heal.
No longer part-veneered chair, but constructed from solid timber throughout (see CHIPPENDALE CHAIRS, opposite).
Carving on knees and crest rail. Acanthus and foliate designs replaced former shells and small C-scrolls. Grandest chairs could be ‘parcel-gilt’, meaning small areas of gilded decoration.
The scarcity of quality, well-proportioned chairs in this transitional style pushes their price up well into the thousands. A fine pair may fetch three or even four times as much as a standard quality pair. Country or
provincial versions will usually be less than half the price.

Antique English CHAIRS, QUEEN ANNE
About 1700-1730
A highly distinctive style, actually extending well beyond Queen Anne’s reign.
Backs of antique queen Anne chairs have a curving outline, with elongated S-scrolls flowing into dipped top rail. Broad vase-shaped splats, after about 1710 slotting into a’shoe’ (p. 59). Cabriole legs and drop-in seats. All these are classic features.
Early, taller, ‘beaded back’ versions were curved in section to fit the sitter’s back. Seat rails were shallow, cabriole legs slender and ending in hoof or pad feet. They had simple turned stretchers with one additional stretcher at the back.
Later versions had lower backs, sometimes broader and occasionally rounder seats, with deeper, often shaped, rails, no stretchers and bolder, squatter cabrioles, sometimes ending in claw-and-ball feet. Strengthening ‘ears’ or ’shoulder pieces’ were added either side of the knee. Legs could be decorated with fine C-scrolls and/or scallop shells carved on the knee. The back uprights were flat-fronted, a feature which subsequently became standard on chairs of most types.
Armchairs had their arms set back several inches from the front rail  they were no longer continuous with the front legs. Some had distinctive ’shepherd’s crook’ arms.
A few chairs had upholstered seats and backs, with no gap between them. These could be tall, with straight sides and top, or lower and ’spoon- backed’.
Early-18thC walnutchair with cabriole legs, rounded seat and stretchers.
Queen Anne armchair with distinctive shepherd’s crook arms..
Spindly Victorian reproductions.
Later Queen Anne chair with square seat and without stretchers.
Walnut. Very occasionally mahogany around d 1730. From this date onwards beech was used for the frames of upholstered seats. Because it is very susceptible to woodworm, these have often been replaced. Frequent re-upholstery may also hasten their demise.
During this period methods evolved which set the standards for virtually all chairs made until the present day. (For details, see CHIPPENDALE, P. 56).
One feature relating specifically to chairs of this period was the veneering of flat surfaces: the splat, the front faces of the uprights, and the facings of the seat rails.
Restrained carving on knees, popularly a scallop shell (on the best pieces ‘hipped’ into the seat rail), but could be foliage, cartouches, or husks. Sometimes a single ornament present in centre of front seat rail. Limited decoration
mostly small scrolls  began to appear on the back towards 1730.
Some very grand pieces were decorated with silver or gilt gesso (museum pieces today). A few had marquetry decoration on veneered surfaces.
Top quality later versions with all the best features have the highest values. Pairs may be about three times the value of a single; a set would be exceptional. Armchairs too are rare, and very expensive.
Victorian (and later) craftsmen loved to reproduce Queen Anne chairs, but often in mahogany  generally an instant giveaway  and too thin in the legs. The backs were often too high and the seat rails too shallow. They tend to look rather mean, reflecting the economic use of timber. Construction of the seat frame (p. 68) should indicate its origin.