XVII
CHAIRS
NO ARTICLE of furniture is more easily placed in its rightful period by the study of its type than is the chair. No piece of furniture is harder to find at present than early chairs, particularly those of the first quarter of the eighteenth century.
The early seventeenth century chair, a seat of honor given to the lord or master of the house, has been shown in the wainscot chair presented, as typical. Until the first quarter of the eighteenth century, chairs were practically devoid of comfort, but with the decided change that came at the beginning of the century, curves took the place of straight lines, especially in chairs, and something better was provided.
The Dutch influence that came into England with William III is very noticeable in the early Queen Anne chairs, and to the Dutch is due the beautiful lines of those of the Queen Anne and Chippendale periods produced by English workmen. The Queen Anne influence produced the cabriole leg with different styles of feet, the majority in the South showing the pad foot. Due to the strength of construction, more examples of the Chippendale period are found than those of the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Richard MacGrath, of the period in South Carolina, it is recalled, was making carved chairs "with commode fronts and pincushion seats," and also described as "splat backs, with hollow slats."
Southern-made chairs of the Chippendale leg, and claw-and-ball foot. The Hepplewhite chairs are easily distinguishable by period are rarely found with the cabriole
Top—Seventeenth centnry turned chair
Center—Turned chair known as a carver chair
Bottom—Turned chair of Dutch influence
Along with the chairs influenced by the master designers, we find the turned chairs made in quantities for use wherever finer chairs could not be had. Many Windsor chairs, heretofore thought to have been solely a product of the New England and Middle Atlantic States, have been found in the South, of Southern manufacture. A. Redmond, in the South Carolina Gazette
Painted Sheraton or early Empire Chair
Empire side chair
and General Advertiser, in 1764, advertised "Turnery in all its branches," and "Likewise Windsor chairs, either armed or unarmed, as neat as any imported, and made of much better stuff." It is strange to note that some are found with a great variety of woods used in their construction, while some are found made completely of walnut; and two writing-arm Windsors made entirely of walnut were found in the South.
Nothing is more difficult to place in a definite manufacture than a chair, as only certain deviations from a general style will help to do so. Many sets of chairs were made in the South for the original furnishings of homes, and these only can be definitely placed. It has been said that one can tell American-made chairs of the Chippendale period by the fact that the side seat rails have a tenon that passes through the rear legs, but this cannot always be used to determine a Southern-made chair, as many of the workmen learned their trade in England, and did not follow this construction.
PLATES
PLATE I. Wainscot Chair—Oak. (Virginia—c. 1620-1640). The wainscot, which harks back into the early days, is of unusual interest. The fact that this chair is made of American oak establishes it as a Southern chair, as do the facts that two chairs and a part of a third were found within a radius of forty miles in Chesterfield County; and that no others of this type with the square legs, rasp-turned at the top, have been found in the United States, lead us to the inference that it was not imported from some other point. This type of chair in England is generally ascribed as being made in the first quarter of the seventeenth century. (Property of William B. Goodwin).
PLATE II. Top—Turned Chair—Walnut. (South Carolina—c. 1700). A unique chair of early derivation, in which the turnings follow those found on gate-leg tables. This chair presents a problem as to its identification by the student of furniture, as it follows no well-known type. There may have been some kind of covering for the back. It is of little need to say anything here except to show that the workman often employed his own ideas in the furniture he made.
PLATE II. Bottom—Turned Chair—Walnut and Cherry. (North Carolina—c. 1750-1760). Much interest attaches to this turned chair, thought to have been one made as part of the original furnishings for the Moravian Church, established in Wachovia about 1753. Its date is later than appears at first glance, as shown by the splat in the back and top rail. Attention is particularly directed to the seat of the chair, as raised above the seat rails, and made on a frame with turned stretchers extending from the extension of the turned legs to the back and between the legs in front. (Property of the Misses Pfhol).
PLATE III. Top—Turned Corner Chair—Walnut. (South Carolina—c. 1700-1730). This turned chair shows the modified Spanish front foot, and is unusual in having the square stretchers in base.
PLATE III. Bottom—Writing-Arm Windsor Chair—Walnut. (Virginia—c. 1760-1780). This represents a rare example of the Windsor chair, only two of which have been found to date, which are the only ones surviving, according to well-known authorities. The two chairs are finely turned, and both are made of walnut. Chairs of any type with writing arms are rare. These were found in the vicinity of Richmond. (Property of Joe Kindig, Jr.).
PLATE IV. Top—Queen Anne Side Chair—Walnut. (Virginia—c. 1720-1740). The Dutch influence is distinctly shown in this chair. In the Queen Anne period, American chairs followed the style of the chairs brought from England. The shape of the leg was directly from the later William and Mary chairs. (Property of J. K. Beard).
PLATE IV. Bottom—Queen Anne Corner Chair—Walnut. (Virginia—c. 1720-1740). This type of chair is often called a roundabout chair. An unusual type, with the deep scalloped skirt. The roundabouts appear among the Chippendale chairs along with the fiddle-splat back, ladder-back and ribband chairs, but are not generally so popular. (Property of J. K. Beard).
PLATE V. Top—Chippendale Ladder-Back Chair—Mahogany. (North Carolina—c. 1760-1775). Here is a fine type of side chair, delicately carved and having the sunk or hollowed seat. The piercing of the cross rails in the back is typical of this type of chair, but the delicate carving is unusual. (Property of Mrs. Paul Chatham).
PLATE V. Bottom—Chippendale Side Chair—Mahogany. (South Carolina—c. 1760-1775). This chair back is very similar to one illustrated in Chippendale's plates. It is in line with his ribband-type back. Although this chair does not show the carved ribbon effect, the scroll and shape are very similar. From the home of the Pickens family. (Property of Mrs. Paul Chatham).
PLATE VI. Chippendale Side and Corner Chairs—Applewood. (Virginia—c. 1780). These side and corner chairs are of much interest, owing to the fact that they were made by a local or journeyman craftsman at work on the Virginia plantations. Native wood is here used to great advantage. These two chairs are part of a set of ten side and two corner chairs made as part of the original furnishings for Oakland, an old manor house on the James River, in Cumberland County. This entire set has been largely preserved but, like other sets, has become separated in pairs or otherwise. (Property of J. Pope Nash).
PLATE VII. Chippendale Armchair—Walnut. (North Carolina—c. 1760-1770). This extremely large armchair reflects the work of a chair builder with a taste for good proportion. The shape of the back is excellent, showing the cut-out splat that was very popular, and used throughout this period, and employing a derivation of the fiddle-shape back of the Queen Anne period.
PLATE VIII. Hepplewhite Shield-Back Chair—Mahogany. (Virginia—c. 1790). This is a Hepplewhite chair exhibiting Adam influence. It shows a back shape found on many American Hepplewhite chairs, which is more the form of the heart than that of the shield. It is one of a set of chairs thought by many connoisseurs to be one of the finest known sets of the present day. The set, however, is distributed among members of the family which formerly owned it. (Property of Mrs. E. D. Hotchkiss, Jr.).
PLATE IX. Top—Sheraton Chair—Mahogany. (Virginia—c. 1795-1800). Here is a Sheraton-style chair, with typical square back, ornamented with carving in low relief, the arrow motif used by Adam, and adapted to chairs by Sheraton. These are found in sets used in a dining room or hall. Few are found throughout the South. (Property of Mrs. J. G. Hayes).
PLATE IX. Bottom—Sheraton Side Chair—Mahogany. (Georgia—c. 1800). This plain Sheraton side chair follows the finer chairs in design, but is devoid of carving. It shows the slip seat often found in chairs of the Chippendale period. The square, tapered legs and stretchers are found on most American Sheraton chairs. (Property of Mrs. Fred Sampson).
PLATE X. Windsor Armchair—Mixed Woods. (Virginia—c. 1785). This and the labeled Windsor, in Plate XI, do not present the finest type of this style chair. They do, however, present evidence that these chairs were made in the South. The fact that William Pointer is listed in the 1782 census of Richmond, and that the capital was moved to Richmond in 1782, helps place the date of this chair, although little else is known of the man. (Property of J. B. Watkins).
PLATE XI. Windsor Chair—Mixed Woods. (Virginia—c. 1785). This Windsor chair shows the shaped top piece and the saddle seat. Mr. Pointer has been cited as having a partner, but no further information is to be offered, except that Crouch's Tavern is spoken of in Mordecai's Richmond of Bygone Days. (Property of G. F. Scheer).
PLATE XII. Windsor Chair—Mixed Woods. (Virginia—c. 1790). This Windsor presents the label of Andrew and Robert McKimm, of Richmond, and is of a type all of which show heavy, turned spindles in the backs, but good saddle seats and well-turned legs. Robert McKimm is among those listed as a chair-maker in the first census of Richmond. Aside from the label on the chair, nothing further is known of Andrew McKimm. (Property of Mrs. A. G. Ryland).
PLATE XIII. Windsor Chair—Mixed Woods. (Virginia—c. 1820). A late Windsor chair and rather crudely made. The turned, back supports and legs have what is known as bamboo turnings. This type of chair was made in great quantities. The labels in this, and in Plate XII, have been retouched to bring out the lettering. (Property of B. F. Powell).
PLATE XIV. Top—Queen Anne Wing Chair—Walnut. (Virginia—c. 1720-1740). Wing chairs of quality are rare in all periods, although many are found, crudely made. (Property of Mrs. E. M. Crutchfield).
PLATE XIV. Bottom—Chippendale Wing Chair—Mahogany. (South Carolina—c. 1760-1780). A chair of the later type, and a style in which the majority of chairs of this style are found. (Property of Mrs. Gabriel Cannon).
PLATE XV. Top—Chippendale Sofa—Mahogany. (Virginia—c. 1760-1780). A Chippendale style sofa having the tapered legs, indicating the latter part of the period. The scroll arms and curved back are typical of the period. (Photograph, courtesy E. Steinmetz).
PLATE XV. Center—Hepplewhite Sofa—Mahogany. (Virginia—c. 1790). A sofa having Hepplewhite and Sheraton motifs combined. It is possibly English made. (Property of Mrs. J. G. Hayes).
PLATE XV. Bottom—Hepplewhite Sofa—Mahogany. (Maryland—c. 1790). An excellent piece and nicely inlaid. Hepplewhite sofas are very rare in the South.
PLATE XVI. Top—Sheraton Sofa—Mahogany. (South Carolina—c. 1800). A sofa of the better type, with the legs at the frame inlaid with panels.
PLATE XVI. Center—Sheraton Sofa—Mahogany. (Virginia—c. 1800-1810). A late Sheraton sofa with Empire influence. The style becomes heavier in these later pieces.
PLATE XVI. Bottom—Empire Sofa—Mahogany. (South Carolina—c. 1820). An elaborate sofa in which the carving is of fine quality. The Dolphin feet and shell in back are exceptionally well done. (Property of J. B. Griffin).
PLATE XVII. Sheraton Painted Settee—Mahogany. (Maryland—c. 1810). A marked settee of fine quality in the late Sheraton style. The scenes are supposed to represent local landscapes. (Property of Mrs. Rush Sturges).
PLATE I
PLATE II
PLATE III
PLATE IV
PLATE V
PLATE VI
PLATE VII
PLATE VIII
PLATE IX
PLATE X
PLATE XI
PLATE XII
PLATE XIII
PLATE XIV
PLATE XV
PLATE XVI
PLATE XVII