CHAIRS
[Illustration]
CHAIRS are seldom mentioned in the earliest colonial inventories, and
few were in use in either England or America at that time. Forms and
stools were used for seats in the sixteenth and early seventeenth
centuries, and inventories of that period, even those of wealthy men,
do not often contain more than one or two chairs. The chair was the
seat of honor given to the guest, others sitting upon forms and stools.
This custom was followed by the American colonists, and forms or
benches and joint or joined stools constituted the common seats during
the first part of the seventeenth century.
[Illustration: Illus. 120.—Turned Chair, Sixteenth Century.]
The chairs in use during that period were “thrown” or turned chairs;
wainscot chairs, sometimes described as “scrowled” or carved chairs;
and later, chairs covered with leather, or “Turkey work,” and other
fabrics.
The best-known turned chair in this country is the “President’s Chair”
at Harvard University. Dr. Holmes has written of it in “Parson Turell’s
Legacy”:—
“—a chair of oak,—
Funny old chair, with seat like wedge,
Sharp behind and broad front edge,—
One of the oddest of human things,
Turned all over with knobs and rings,—
But heavy, and wide, and deep, and grand,—
Fit for the worthies of the land,—
Chief Justice Sewall a cause to try in,
Or Cotton Mather, to sit—and lie,—in.”
In the Bolles collection is a chair similar to the Harvard chair, and
one is shown in Illustration 120, owned by Henry F. Waters, Esq., of
Salem. A turned chair of the same period with a square seat is owned by
the Connecticut Historical Society.
[Illustration: Illus. 121.—Turned High-chair, Sixteenth Century.]
Provision was made for the youngest of the large family of children,
with which the colonist was usually blessed, in the high chair,
which is found in almost every type. A turned high chair is shown in
Illustration 121, brought by Richard Mather to America in 1635, and
used to hold the successive babies of that famous family,—Samuel,
Increase, Cotton, and the others. The rod is missing which was fastened
across the front to hold the child in, and only the holes show where
the pegs were placed to support the foot-rest. This quaint little chair
is owned by the American Antiquarian Society of Worcester.
A style of turned chair more commonly in use is shown in Illustration
122, said to have been brought on the _Mayflower_ by Governor Carver.
The chair in Illustration 123, originally owned by Elder Brewster, is
of a rarer type, the spindles being greater in number and more finely
turned. Both of these chairs are in Pilgrim Hall, in Plymouth. Turned
chairs are not infrequently found of the type of Illustration 122, but
rarely like the Brewster chair or the turned chair in Illustration 120.
The wainscot chair was made entirely of wood, usually oak, with a
panelled back, from which came the name “wainscot.” Its valuation in
inventories was two or three times that of the turned chair, which is
probably the reason why wainscot chairs are seldom found.
[Illustration: Illus. 122 and Illus. 123.—Turned Chairs, about 1600.]
The finest wainscot chair in this country is shown in Illustration 124.
It belongs to the Essex Institute of Salem, having been given to that
society in 1821 by a descendant of the original owner, Sarah Dennis
of Ipswich, who possessed two of these chairs; the other is now the
President’s chair at Bowdoin College.
[Illustration: Illus. 124.—Wainscot Chair, about 1600.]
A plainer form of the wainscot chair is shown in Illustration 125. It
was brought to Newbury in the ship _Hector_, in 1633, and is now in the
collection of the late Major Ben: Perley Poore, at Indian Hill.
By the middle of the seventeenth century chairs had become more common,
and inventories of that period had frequent mention of leather or
leather-backed chairs. Some of the earliest leather chairs have the
under part of the frame similar to that of the wainscot chair, with
plain legs and stretchers, while others have the legs and back posts
turned. Illustration 126 shows a leather chair made about 1660, in the
Waters collection. The seat and back have been covered with leather in
the same manner as they were originally, as enough remained of the old
cover to copy.
A chair of some later date, about 1680, is shown in Illustration
127, also from the Waters collection, the back and seat of which
were originally of Turkey work. The frame is similar to that in
Illustration 126, with the exception of the carved brace across the
front, which feature leads one to give the chair a later date than the
one in Illustration 126. The feet have been sawed off.
[Illustration: Illus. 125.—Wainscot Chair, about 1600.]
Other coverings beside Turkey work were used,—velvet, camlett,
plush, or cloth, as well as an occasional cover “wrought by hir owne
hand.” Until the latter part of the seventeenth century a somewhat
architectural style prevailed in chairs, settles, and tables. This was
succeeded by the graceful lines and carving of the cane furniture which
came into fashion during the last quarter of that century. It is called
Jacobean furniture, although that name would not seem to be strictly
accurate, for the Jacobean period was ended before cane furniture was
introduced into England, about 1678. The cane chairs form a complete
contrast to the heavy wainscot or turned chairs in use previously, the
light effect coming not only from the cane seat and back, but also from
the frame, which was usually carved in a graceful design.
[Illustration: Illus. 126.—Leather Chair, about 1660.]
[Illustration: Illus. 127.—Chair originally covered with Turkey work,
about 1680.]
[Illustration: Illus. 129.—Flemish Chair, about 1690.]
[Illustration: Illus. 128.—Flemish Chair, about 1690.]
Illustration 128 shows a chair which belonged to Sir William Pepperell,
made possibly for his father, for Sir William was not born until 1697.
The front legs, carved with the scroll foot turning forward, are in the
pure Flemish style. The brace in front, carved to correspond with the
top of the back, appears in cane chairs with a carved frame.
The seat was originally of cane. This chair is now in the Alexander
Ladd house in Portsmouth.
[Illustration: Illus. 130.—Cane Chair, 1680-1690.]
A chair of similar effect, but with turned legs, and carved in
a different design, with the crown as the central figure of the
underbrace and top, is shown in Illustration 129. It belongs to
Miss Mary Coates of Philadelphia, to whom it has descended from
Josiah Langdale, in whose inventory this chair, with its mates, was
mentioned. Josiah Langdale took ship with his family and belongings,
from England for America, in 1723.
Before sailing he became very ill and prayed that he might die and
be buried in the old graveyard, but his wish was not granted, and he
was carried on board, taking his coffin with him. Three days out (but
not far from land) he died, and was buried in his coffin, at sea.
The coffin was not sufficiently weighted, however, and it drifted
back to land, where it was opened, and its occupant identified, and
Josiah Langdale was buried from the old Quaker meeting-house, as he
had prayed. His widow came safely to America with her furniture, among
which was this chair.
Both Flemish and Spanish characteristics appear in the chair in
Illustration 130. The front legs are in the Flemish style, the scroll
foot turning back as it often does. The twisted stretchers and back
posts show the influence of Spanish or Portuguese fashions. This chair
is in the Poore collection at Indian Hill, Newburyport.
[Illustration: Illus. 131.—Cane High-chair and Arm-chair, 1680-1690.]
Illustration 131 shows two beautiful chairs owned by Dwight Blaney,
Esq., of Boston. The Portuguese twist has an unusually graceful effect
in the tall legs of the little high chair.
[Illustration: Illus. 132.—Cane Chair, 1680-1690.]
It will be noticed that, instead of being twisted, the upper part of
the front legs is turned in balls to provide a stronger hold for the
pegs which support the foot-rest. There are four holes for these pegs,
at different heights, in order that the rest might be lowered as the
infantile legs lengthened. The crown appears in the top of the high
chair, while the arm-chair has a child’s figure carved in the centre of
the top. The arms of both chairs are carved with the acanthus leaf.
An example of the finest carving attained in cane furniture is shown
in Illustration 132. This exquisite chair is owned by Harry Harkness
Flagler, Esq., of Millbrook. The design of the top is repeated in the
front brace, but much enlarged. The frame of the seat and the arms are
carved like those in Illustration 131. The legs end in a curious form
of the Spanish foot.
The popularity of the cane chair, as well as its strength, is attested
by the number which have survived the centuries, in fair condition for
chairs so light in appearance.
The cane chair in Illustration 133 is owned by Dwight M. Prouty, Esq.,
of Boston. The top of the under brace is carved in a crescent-shaped
design, which is used again in the top rail. The front leg is a Flemish
scroll with a ball beneath it. The cane back is unusual in design, the
carved wood on each side making a diamond-shaped effect.
The chair in Illustration 134 belongs to the writer. The cane extends
up into the curve made in the top rail of the back, which is, like the
underbrace and the sides of the back, more elaborately carved than the
chairs in Illustrations 128 and 129.
[Illustration: Illus. 133 and Illus. 134.—Cane Chairs, 1680-1690.]
Stools were not common, but are occasionally found, following the
styles in chairs. With the wainscot chairs were joined or joint stools.
The stool in Illustration 135 was used with the turned chair, like the
one in Illustration 126.
[Illustration: Illus. 135.—Turned Stool, 1660.]
Illustration 136 shows a very rare piece, a Flemish stool, with a
carved underbrace, probably like the ones upon the cane-back chairs
used with it. These two fine stools are in the collection of Dwight M.
Prouty, Esq., of Boston.
A chair once owned by General Henry Dearborn of Revolutionary fame is
shown in Illustration 137. The back and seat were originally cane, and
it has a perfect Spanish foot.
[Illustration: Illus. 136.—Flemish Stool, 1680.]
The chair in Illustration 138 is of the style called Queen Anne. It
has Spanish feet but the back shows the first use of the Dutch splat,
afterward developed and elaborated by Chippendale and others. This
chair and the one in Illustration 137 belong to the writer.
A chair which retained some characteristics of the cane chair was the
banister-back chair, which appears in inventories of the first half of
the eighteenth century.
Two banister-back chairs owned by the writer are shown in Illustration
139 and Illustration 140. It will be seen that the tops and one carved
underbrace are similar to those upon cane chairs, while the legs of one
chair end in a clumsy Spanish foot. The banisters which form the back
are turned on one side and flat on the other.
[Illustration: Illus. 137.—Cane Chair, 1690-1700.]
[Illustration: Illus. 138.—Queen Anne Chair, 1710-1720.]
These chairs have the flat side in front, but either side was used in
banister chairs, plainer types of which are found, sometimes with the
slats not turned, but straight and flat. The chair in Illustration
140 was used for the deacon’s chair in the old meeting-house in
Westborough, Massachusetts, built in 1724, and it stood in “the
deacon’s pue,” in front of the pulpit, for the deacon to sit upon, as
was the custom.
[Illustration: Illus. 139 and Illus. 140.—Banister-back Chairs,
1710-1720.]
[Illustration: Illus. 141.—Banister-back Chair, 1710-1740.]
Thedeacon must have longed for the two hours’ sermon to end, if he had
to sit upon this chair with its high, narrow seat. There are several
kinds of wood in these chairs, and when found they were painted black.
[Illustration: Illus. 142.—Roundabout Chair, about 1740.]
An unusually fine banister chair, from the Poore collection at Indian
Hill, Newburyport, is shown in Illustration 141, with carved top and
underbrace and Spanish feet. The seat is rush, as it usually is in
banister chairs.
“Roundabout” chairs are met with in inventories from 1738 under various
names,—“three-cornered chair,” “half round chair,” “round about
chair,”—but they are now known as roundabout or corner chairs. They
were made in different styles, like other chairs, from the turned
or the Dutch bandy-leg, down to the carved Chippendale leg with
claw-and-ball foot.
Illustration 142 shows a roundabout chair with turned legs, the front
leg ending in a Dutch foot. This is in the Whipple house at Ipswich.
[Illustration: Illus. 143.—Slat-back Chairs, 1700-1750.]
The most common chair during the first half of the eighteenth century
was the “slat back,” with a rush seat. The number of slats varied;
three, four, and five slats being used. The slats were also made in
different designs, those made in Pennsylvania being curved.
[Illustration: Illus. 144.—Five-slat Chair, about 1750.]
Two slat-back chairs are shown in Illustration 143 from the Whipple
house in Ipswich. The large chair was found in the country, stuffed
and covered with many layers of wadding and various materials. When
they were removed, this frame was disclosed, but the tops of the posts
had been sawed off. The back posts should terminate in a turned knob,
like the Carver chair in Illustration 122, which this chair strongly
resembles, the slats taking the place of the turned spindles of the
Carver chair. The small chair is probably of later date, and was
evidently intended for a child’s use. Chairs with three-slat backs are
in Illustrations 54 and 201.
[Illustration: Illus. 145.—Pennsylvania Slat-back Chair, 1740-1750.]
Illustration 144 shows a five-slat or five-back chair owned by the
writer. It was made about 1750, and the rockers were probably added
twenty-five or thirty years later. They project as far in front as
in the back, which is evidence of their age. Later rockers were made
longer, probably for safety, the short rocker at the back proving
dangerous to the equilibrium of a too vigorous occupant of the rocking
chair. This chair has never been restored and is a very good example of
the slat-back chair. It is painted black with lines of yellow.
Illustration 145 shows an arm-chair with a five-slat back which is now
the property of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The slats are
the typical Pennsylvania ones, made to fit the back, with a deeper
curve than some, and, as may be seen by comparing them with others
illustrated, with a more decided curve to both the upper and lower
edges of the slats. The stretcher across the front is turned and is
unusually heavy.
[Illustration: Illus. 146.—Windsor Chairs, 1750-1775.]
The type of chair succeeding the slat-back in popularity was the
Windsor, which was made for years in large numbers both in England and
America.
Windsor chairs made their first appearance in this country about
1730, in Philadelphia, and “Philadelphia made” Windsor chairs soon
became very popular. Advertisements of them abound in newspapers up to
1800, and they may be found with the slat-back chairs in almost any
country house, frequently upon the piazza, whence many a one has been
bought by the keen-eyed collector driving along the road. The original
Philadelphia fashion was to paint the chairs green, but after they were
made all over the country they were probably painted to suit the taste
of the buyer.
[Illustration: Illus. 147.—Comb-back Windsor Rocking-chair, 1750-1775.]
There is a story that the name Windsor was derived from the English
town, where one of the royal Georges found in a shepherd’s cottage a
chair of this style, which he bought and had others made from,—thereby
setting the fashion.
Windsor chairs are found in several styles, two of which are shown in
Illustration 146, owned by the writer. Side-chairs like the arm-chair
were made with the dividing strip which connects the arms left out,
and the rounding top rail continuing down to the seat. The other chair
in the illustration is known as a “fan back” from its shape with the
flaring top.
Illustration 147 shows a “comb-back” Windsor rocking-chair, owned by
Mrs. Clarence R. Hyde, of Brooklyn, N. Y. The middle spindles are
extended to form the little head-rest, from which the name is derived.
[Illustration: Illus. 148.—High-back Windsor Arm-chair, and Child’s
Chair, 1750-1775.]
A fine, high-backed arm-chair, and a child’s chair are shown in
Illustration 148, owned by Miss Mary Coates of Philadelphia. These
chairs may have been some of the original Philadelphia-made Windsor
chairs, as they were bought in that town by Benjamin Horner, who was
born in 1737.
Windsor writing-chairs are occasionally found, and one is shown in
Illustration 149, possessing more than common interest, for it is said
to have belonged to Thomas Jefferson, and upon its table may have been
written the Declaration of Independence. It now belongs to the American
Philosophical Society of Philadelphia. The seat is double, the top one
revolving. The legs have been shortened.
[Illustration: Illus. 149.—Windsor Writing-chair, 1750-1775.]
Illustration 150 shows two late Windsor rocking-chairs, the one of
curly maple being several years later than the other, as the rockers,
short in front and long behind, bear evidence. These chairs are owned
by the writer.
The Dutch chair with bandy or cabriole legs and a splat in the back
made its appearance with the early years of the eighteenth century,
and was the forerunner of the Chippendale chair. The first Dutch chairs
have a back similar in form to the Queen Anne chair in Illustration
108, slightly higher and narrower than later backs. They are sometimes
called Queen Anne chairs, and sometimes parrot-back, from the shape of
the opening each side of the solid splat. The stretchers or underbraces
of earlier chairs are retained in the first Dutch chairs, one of which
is shown in Illustration 151, owned by Mrs. Charles H. Prentice, of
Worcester.
[Illustration: Illus. 150.—Windsor Rocking-chairs, 1820-1830.]
The first mention found of claw-and-ball feet is in 1737, when “six
Crowfoot chairs” appear in an inventory. In one of 1750, “chairs with
Eagle’s foot and shell on the Knee” are entered.
[Illustration: Illus. 151.—Dutch Chair (back stretcher missing),
1710-1720.]
A chair is shown in Illustration 152, still retaining the stretchers,
but with the claw-and-ball foot and a shell at the top of the back.
This chair was made about 1720-1730. It belongs to Walter Hosmer, Esq.
Illustration 153 shows a chair also belonging to Mr. Hosmer. It is made
without stretchers, and the splat is pierced at the top.
A chair which retains the form of the Dutch chair, with “Eagle’s foot
and shell on the Knee,” is shown in Illustration 154, but the splat is
cut in an elaborate design, with the centre opening heart-shaped, which
was the shape of the earliest piercing made in the plain splat. This
chair and the one in Illustration 155 are in the Poore collection at
Indian Hill, Newburyport. They show the development from the Dutch to
the Chippendale style. The legs in Illustration 155 are carved upon
the knee with an elaborate form of shell and a scroll. The splat is not
pierced, but has a curious design of ropes with tassels carved at the
top. These chairs were made about 1740-1750. The backs of the last four
chairs are made with the characteristic Dutch top, curving down into
the side-posts with rounded ends, with the effect of back and sides
being in one piece.
[Illustration: Illus. 152 and Illus. 153.—Dutch Chairs, about 1740.]
A style of chair common during the first half of the eighteenth
century is shown in Illustration 156; one chair having turned legs
while the other ends in a Spanish foot. The tops are in the bow shape,
and the splats are pierced, showing the influence of Chippendale
fashions. The splat is alike in both, but the country cabinet-maker who
probably made these chairs may have thought the splat would look as
well one way as the other, and so put one in upside down. They are in
the Deerfield Museum, and were made about 1750.
[Illustration: Illus. 154 and Illus 155.—Dutch Chairs, 1740-1750.]
A roundabout chair in the Dutch style is shown in Illustration 157. The
bandy legs end in a foot with a slight carving in grooves, and the seat
is rounding upon the corners like that in the ordinary Dutch chair.
This very graceful chair is owned by Francis H. Bigelow, Esq., of
Cambridge.
[Illustration: Illus. 156.—Dutch Chairs, 1750-1760.]
Easy-chairs formed a part of the bedroom furniture inventoried during
the eighteenth century, and they were made in various styles, with
Dutch, Chippendale, and Hepplewhite legs. Hepplewhite gives a design
in 1787 for what he calls “an easy-chair,” and also a “saddle-check
chair,” while upon the same page, with intentional suggestion, is a
design for a “gouty-stool.”
[Illustration: Illus. 157.—Dutch Roundabout Chair, 1740.]
Illustration 158 shows an easy-chair with the Dutch bandy leg and foot,
owned by the writer. Such chairs were inventoried very high, from one
pound to ten, and when one considers the amount of material required
to stuff and cover the chair, the reason for the high valuation is
understood. In the days when the fireplace gave what heat there was in
the room, these great chairs must have been most comfortable, with the
high back and sides to keep out draughts.
An easy-chair with claw-and-ball feet is shown in Illustration 159.
It is owned by Francis H. Bigelow, Esq., of Cambridge. A beautiful
easy-chair with carved cabriole legs, owned by Harry Harkness Flagler,
Esq., is shown in Illustration 248.
We now come to the most important period in the consideration of
chairs,—the last half of the eighteenth century. During this period
many books of designs were published, which probably came to this
country within a year or two of their publication, and which afforded
American cabinet-makers an opportunity for copying the best English
examples.
Chippendale’s designs were published in 1753, Hepplewhite’s in 1789,
Sheraton’s in 1791. Besides these three chief chair-makers, there were
Ince and Mayhew, 1765; Robert Manwaring, 1765; R. and J. Adam, 1773;
and others of less note.
[Illustration: Illus. 158.—Easy-Chair with Dutch Legs, 1750.]
Chippendale drew most of his ideas from the French, notably in the way
of ornamentation, but the form of his chairs was developed chiefly
from the Dutch style, with the bandy leg and splat in the back. His
straight-legged chairs were suggested by the Chinese furniture, which
was fashionable about the middle of the eighteenth century. These
various styles Chippendale adapted, and employed with such success that
his was the strongest influence of the century upon furniture, and for
a period of over thirty years it was supreme.
[Illustration: Illus. 159.—Claw-and-ball-foot Easy-chair, 1750.]
[Illustration: Illus. 160.—Chippendale Chair.]
The claw-and-ball foot does not appear upon any of Chippendale’s
designs in “The Gentleman’s and Cabinet-Maker’s Director.”
[Illustration: Illus. 161.—Chippendale Chair.]
His preference was plainly for the French scroll foot, shown upon the
sofa in Illustration 209 and the candle-stand in Illustration 333.
Doubtless, however, he made furniture with the claw-and-ball foot,
which was the foot used by the majority of his imitators and followers.
An early Chippendale chair is shown in Illustration 160, from the Poore
collection at Indian Hill, with stretchers, which are unusual in a
Chippendale chair. The cabriole legs are carved upon the knee and end
in a claw-and-ball foot.
[Illustration: Illus. 162.—Chippendale Chair.]
The top of the back has the bow form, which is a distinguishing
characteristic of Chippendale. This chair-seat and the one following
are very large and broad.
[Illustration: Illus. 163.—Chippendale Chair.]
The lines in the back of the chair in Illustration 161 form a series
of curves, extremely graceful in effect, and the carving upon the back
and legs is very fine. This chair is one of a set of six owned by Harry
Harkness Flagler, Esq.
Illustration 162 shows a chair owned by Miss Mary Coates of
Philadelphia. The design of the back, with some variations, is often
seen. The top forms a complete bow with the ends turning up, and a
shell is carved in the centre.
[Illustration: Illus. 165.—Chippendale Chairs.]
A variation of this back is shown in Illustration 163. The top has a
fan instead of a shell, and the ends of the bow top are grooved.
[Illustration: Illus. 164.—Chippendale Chair.]
This chair is one of a set formerly owned by Miss Rebecca Shaw of
Wickford, Rhode Island, who died in 1900, over ninety years of age.
They are now in the possession of Mrs. Alice Morse Earle of Brooklyn,
New York.
A fine arm-chair owned by Miss Mary Coates is shown in Illustration 164.
Two very beautiful and unusual Chippendale arm-chairs are shown in
Illustration 165. They are owned by Harry Harkness Flagler, Esq., and
the larger chair, which was formerly in the Pendleton collection, is
undoubtedly an original Chippendale. Its proportions are perfect,
and the elaborate carving is finely done. The other chair presents
some Dutch characteristics, in the shape of the seat and back, but
the details of the carving indicate it to be after the school of
Chippendale.
[Illustration: Illus. 167.—Roundabout Chair.]
Illustration 166 shows a graceful chair with carving upon the back and
knees. It belonged formerly to Governor Strong of Massachusetts, and is
now owned by W. S. G. Kennedy, Esq., of Worcester.
[Illustration: Illus. 166.—Chippendale Chair.]
The roundabout chair in Illustration 167 was originally owned by
the Rev. Daniel Bliss, the Congregational minister in Concord,
Massachusetts, from 1739 to 1766. He was succeeded by William Emerson,
who married his daughter, and who was the grandfather of Ralph Waldo
Emerson. William Emerson died in 1777, and Dr. Ezra Ripley succeeded
to the pastorate and the widow, and took possession of the manse and
of this chair, which must have served the successive ministers at the
desk, while many hundreds of sound sermons were written. It now belongs
to the Concord Antiquarian Society.
[Illustration: Illus. 168.—Extension-top Roundabout Chair.]
An unusually fine example of a Dutch corner chair with an extension
top, is shown in Illustration 168, owned by the Metropolitan Museum of
Art.
The finest type of roundabout chair is shown in Illustration 169.
It is of mahogany and has but one cabriole leg, the others being
uncompromisingly straight, but the cabriole leg, and the top rail and
arms are carved finely with the acanthus design, worn almost smooth on
the arms. It belongs to Dwight M. Prouty, Esq.
[Illustration: Illus. 169.—Roundabout Chair.]
Illustration 170 shows a chair owned by Albert S. Rines, Esq., of
Portland, Maine.
[Illustration: Illus. 170.—Chippendale Chair.]
It is extraordinarily good in design and carving, fine in every detail.
The gadrooned edge upon this and the roundabout chair is found only
upon the best pieces.
Illustration 171 shows one of six chairs owned by the writer.
The design of the chair-back in Illustration 172 is one that was quite
common. The chair belongs to the writer.
The chair in Illustration 173 is owned by Mrs. E. A. Morse of
Worcester; the one in Illustration 174 is in the Waters collection, in
Salem, and is one of a set of six. The legs and the rail around the
seat of the last chair are carved in a rosette design in low relief.
[Illustration: Illus. 171 and Illus. 172.—Chippendale Chairs.]
About the middle of the eighteenth century it was fashionable to
decorate houses and gardens in “Chinese taste,” and furniture was
designed for “Chinese temples” by various cabinet-makers. That the
American colonies followed English fashions closely is shown by the
advertisement in 1758 of Theophilus Hardenbrook, surveyor, who with
unfettered fancy modestly announced that he “designs all sorts of
Buildings, Pavilions, Summer Rooms, Seats for Gardens”; also “all sorts
of rooms after the taste of the Arabian, Chinese, Persian, Gothic,
Muscovite, Paladian, Roman, Vitruvian, and Egyptian.”
[Illustration: Illus. 173 and Illus. 174.—Chippendale Chairs.]
Illustration 175 shows a Chippendale chair in “Chinese taste” owned by
Harry Harkness Flagler, Esq., of Millbrook. The legs and stretchers
are straight, like those of Chinese chairs, and the outline of the back
is Chinese, but the delicate carving is English. A sofa and a chair in
“Chinese taste” are shown in Illustration 211.
[Illustration: Illus. 175.—Chippendale Chair in “Chinese Taste.”]
Illustration 176 and Illustration 177 show two Chippendale chairs
with backs of entirely different design from the splat-back chairs
previously illustrated. Their form was probably suggested by that
of the slat-back chair. Illustration 176 is one of a set of six,
originally owned by Joseph Brown, one of the four famous brothers of
Providence, whose dignified names, John, Joseph, Nicholas, and Moses,
have been familiarly rhymed as “John and Josey, Nick and Mosey.” The
six chairs are now owned by their kinswoman, Mrs. David Thomas Moore of
Westbury, Long Island. Each slat is delicately carved, and the chairs
represent the finest of this type of Chippendale chairs. Illustration
177 shows a chair owned by Charles R. Waters, Esq., of Salem, with
carved slats in the back. Chairs with this back but with plain slats
are not unusual.
[Illustration: Illus. 176.—Chippendale Chair.]
Hepplewhite’s designs were published in 1789, and his light and
attractive furniture soon became fashionable, superseding that of
Chippendale, which was pronounced “obsolete.” Hepplewhite’s aim was to
produce a light effect, and to this he often sacrificed considerations
of strength and durability.
[Illustration: Illus. 177.—Chippendale Chair.]
[Illustration: Illus. 179.—Hepplewhite Chair.]
While Chippendale used no inlaying, Hepplewhite’s furniture is
ornamented with both carving and inlay, as well as painting. His
chairs may be distinguished by the shape and construction of the
back, which was usually of oval, shield, or heart shape. The carving
in Hepplewhite’s chairs is of quite a different character from that
of Chippendale. The three feathers of the Prince of Wales often form
a part of the back, for Hepplewhite was of the Prince’s party when
feeling ran strong during the illness of George III.
Carved drapery, wheat, and the bell-flower, sometimes called husks, are
other characteristics of Hepplewhite’s chairs, two of which are shown
in Illustration 178, belonging to Dwight Blaney, Esq., of Boston. The
Prince’s feathers appear in the middle of one chair-back and upon the
top rail of the other.
Illustration 179 shows an arm-chair from a set of Hepplewhite
dining-chairs owned by Francis H. Bigelow, Esq., of Cambridge. The back
is carved with a design of drapery and ears of wheat.
[Illustration: Illus. 178.—Hepplewhite Chairs.]
A chair is shown in Illustration 180, which has features of several
styles. The legs are French and the width of the seat; the splat joins
the seat in the manner of Chippendale; the anthemion design of the
splat is in the Adam style and the carving on the top rail, but the
rail is Hepplewhite’s.
[Illustration: Illus. 180.—Hepplewhite Chair, 1785.]
It is probably an early Hepplewhite chair, made before his own style
was fully formulated, and the combination has resulted in a beautiful
chair. It belongs to J. J. Gilbert, Esq., of Baltimore.
[Illustration: Illus. 181.—Hepplewhite Chair, 1789.]
The chair in Illustration 181 is also in Mr. Gilbert’s collection.
Although the shield back is generally accredited to Hepplewhite, Adam
made it before him and it was used by the other chair-makers of his
time. This chair shows very strongly the Adam influence in the carved
and reeded legs and the fine carving, which is called guilloche, upon
the arms and around the back and the frame of the seat.
[Illustration: Illus. 182.—Hepplewhite Chair, 1789.]
The entire chair is beautifully carved.
The arm-chair shown in Illustration 182 has stood since 1835 in front
of the pulpit in the Unitarian church in Leicester, Massachusetts, but
of its history nothing is known for the years before that date, when
it was probably given to the new church, then just starting with its
young pastor, Rev. Samuel May. This chair, like the one in Illustration
181, which it resembles, has characteristics of different styles. It
is probable that both Hepplewhite and Sheraton had practised their
trade some years, and had made much furniture before their books were
published in 1789 and 1791, and had adopted and adapted many ideas
from the cabinet-makers and designers of the day, as well as from each
other.
The chair in Illustration 183 was used by Washington in the house
occupied as the Presidential mansion in Philadelphia. It is now owned
by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. This chair has the same
guilloche carving as the chair in Illustration 181, extending entirely
around the back. The legs are short and the chair low and wide, and
this with the stuffed back indicates that the chair is French.
[Illustration: Illus. 183.—French Chair, 1790.]
[Illustration: Illus. 184.—Hepplewhite Chair, 1790.]
The chair in Illustration 184 is also in the rooms of the Historical
Society, and is one of the set owned by Washington. The urn and
festoons in the back show a marked Adam influence, but the three
feathers above the urn are Hepplewhite’s.
[Illustration: Illus. 185.—Arm Chair, 1785.]
A very fine arm chair is shown in Illustration 185, owned by Dwight M.
Prouty, Esq. The mahogany frame is heavier than in later chairs of the
same style, and the arms end in a bird’s head and bill.
[Illustration: Illus. 186.—Transition Chair, 1785.]
During the transition period between Chippendale and Hepplewhite,
features of the work of both appeared in chairs.
The chair in Illustration 186 has the Chippendale splat, with the three
feathers in it, and the top rail has the Hepplewhite curve. It belongs
to Mrs. Clarence R. Hyde, of Brooklyn, N. Y.
Illustration 187 shows one of a set of six very beautiful Hepplewhite
chairs bought originally by the grandfather of their present owner,
Charles R. Waters, Esq., of Salem. This chair is carved upon the legs
with the bell-flower, and the three middle rails of the back are
exquisitely carved. Chairs of this design, with the ornament of inlay
instead of carving, are also found.
[Illustration: Illus. 187 and 188.—Hepplewhite Chairs.]
The chair in Illustration 188 belongs to W. S. G. Kennedy, Esq., of
Worcester. The rails are not carved or inlaid, but the fan-shaped
ornament at the lower point of the shield back is of holly and ebony,
inlaid. This design of Hepplewhite chair is more frequently found than
any other.
[Illustration: Illus. 189.—Hepplewhite Chair.]
A specialty of Hepplewhite’s was what he terms “a very elegant
fashion.” The chair-backs were finished with painted or japanned work.
This was not the lacquering which had been fashionable during the first
half of the eighteenth century, with Chinese figures, but it was a
process of coating the chairs with a sort of lacquer varnish, and then
painting them in gold or colors upon a black ground.
[Illustration: Illus. 190.—Hepplewhite Chair.]
Haircloth was used for the seats of chairs; the edges were finished
with brass-headed nails, arranged sometimes to simulate festoons, as in
Illustration 191.
A Hepplewhite chair with a back of quite a different design from the
examples described previously, is shown in Illustration 189. The back
is heart-shaped, and the ornamentation is of inlaying in light and dark
wood. This chair is one of four in the Poore collection at Indian Hill.
They formed a part of the set bought by Washington for Mount Vernon,
and were in use there at the time of his death.
A chair owned by Miss Mary Coates of Philadelphia is shown in
Illustration 190. The characteristic bell-flower is carved in the
middle of the back of this chair.
[Illustration: Illus. 191.—Sheraton Chair.]
Hepplewhite in turn was superseded by Sheraton, whose book of designs
was published in 1791, only two years later than Hepplewhite’s;
but that short time sufficed for Sheraton to say that “this book
[Hepplewhite’s] has already caught the decline”; while he asserted of
Chippendale’s designs, that “they are now wholly antiquated and laid
aside, though possessed of great merit, according to the times in which
they were executed.”
Sheraton’s chairs retained many of Hepplewhite’s characteristics, but
the great difference between them lay in the construction of the back,
which it was Sheraton’s aim to strengthen. His chairs, except in rare
cases, do not have the heart or shield shaped back, which distinctly
marks Hepplewhite chairs, but the back is rectangular in shape, the
top rail being curved, straight, or with a raised piece in the centre,
corresponding to the piece in the middle of the back. A rail extends
across the back a few inches above the seat, and the splat or spindles
end in this rail, and never extend to the seat.
[Illustration: Illus. 192.—Sheraton Chairs.]
Sheraton’s designs show chairs with carved, twisted, reeded, or plain
legs. The best Sheraton chairs found in this country usually have
straight legs, slightly smaller than those upon the straight-legged
Chippendale chairs. The tapering, reeded leg, which is characteristic
of Sheraton, is not found so often upon his chairs as upon other pieces
of furniture.
[Illustration: Illus. 193.—Sheraton Chair.]
[Illustration: Illus. 194.—Sheraton Chair.]
The chair in Illustration 191 is owned by the Misses Nichols of
Salem, and it was brought with its mates to furnish the house built
by McIntire in 1783. The chairs were imported, and as the back is
precisely like one of Sheraton’s designs in his book, they may have
been made by him, before the book was published in 1791.
[Illustration: Illus. 195.—Sheraton Chair.]
The impression given by this chair is of strength combined with
lightness, the effect which Sheraton strove to attain, while at the
same time he made the chairs strong not only in effect but in reality,
an end which Hepplewhite did not accomplish. The legs of the chair are
plainly turned, but in the original design they are reeded.
[Illustration: Illus. 196.—Sheraton Chair.]
Illustration 192 shows two Sheraton chairs owned by Francis H. Bigelow,
Esq. It will be seen that the carving in the back is similar in design
to that of Hepplewhite chairs, and the carving and shape of the upper
part of the chair-back with the curved top rail is often seen upon
Hepplewhite’s “bar-back” chairs.
[Illustration: Illus. 197.—Sheraton Chair.]
Mr. Bigelow also owns the upholstered arm-chair in Illustration 193,
sometimes called a Martha Washington easy-chair, from a similar chair
at Mount Vernon. This chair and one in Illustration 194, which belongs
to Mr. Bigelow, are after the Sheraton style, although these designs do
not appear in Sheraton’s books.
[Illustration: Illus. 198.—Painted Sheraton Chair, 1810-1815.]
The arm-chair in Illustration 194 is said to have belonged to Jerome
Bonaparte, but as Lucien and Joseph Bonaparte both had residences in
this country, it would more probably have been owned by one of them
rather than by Jerome, whose career in America was short and meteoric.
The wood of this chair is cherry, said to have grown upon the island
of Corsica, and the style of the back, while upon the Sheraton order,
differs from any of Sheraton’s designs.
The chair in Illustration 195 belongs to Walter Bowne Lawrence, Esq.,
of Flushing, Long Island. It is one of the finest types of a Sheraton
chair. The front legs end in what Hepplewhite called a “spade foot,”
which was frequently employed by him and occasionally by Sheraton.
Illustration 196 shows a Sheraton chair owned by Mrs. E. A. Morse of
Worcester. The top bar is carved with graceful festoons of drapery, and
the back is in a design which is often seen.
[Illustration: Illus. 199.—Late Mahogany Chairs, 1830-1845.]
A chair after Sheraton’s later designs is shown in Illustration 197.
It is one which was popular in the first decade of the nineteenth
century. This chair is part of a set inherited by Waldo Lincoln, Esq.,
of Worcester.
The chair shown in Illustration 198 is owned by Mrs. J. C. Cutter of
Worcester. It has a rush seat, and the back is painted in the manner
called japanning, with gilt flowers upon a black ground. These chairs,
which were called “Fancy chairs,” were very popular during the first
part of the nineteenth century, together with settees decorated in the
same fashion.
Illustration 199 shows two mahogany chairs owned by Waldo Lincoln,
Esq., of the styles which were fashionable from 1840 to 1850, examples
of which may be found in almost every household, along with heavy sofas
and tables of mahogany, solid or veneered.
In the first half of the nineteenth century and in the last quarter of
the eighteenth, furniture was fashionable made of the light-colored
woods; maple, curly and bird’s-eye, and in the more expensive pieces,
satinwood, which was used chiefly as a veneer on account of its
cost. The two varieties of maple, being a native wood and plentiful,
were always used lavishly, and rarely as a veneer. The thick maple
drawers in old bureaus have been sawed into many thicknesses to use
in violins, for which their seasoned wood is especially valuable. The
parlor in John Hancock’s house, in Boston, was “furnished in bird’s-eye
maple covered with damask brocade.” As Governor Hancock was a man of
inherited wealth and probably of fashion as well, his parlor would be
furnished according to the mode of the day.
[Illustration: Illus. 200.—Maple Chairs, 1820-1830.]
The three maple chairs in Illustration 200 belong to the writer. They
were probably made about 1820 to 1830. The wood in all is beautifully
marked curly maple, and in the upper rail of two is set a strip of
bird’s-eye maple. The design of the carved piece across the back is one
that was used at this time in both maple and mahogany chairs.