Continuing with our antique chair guide we’d like to tell you a little more about the classic Windsor chair. A sturdy everyday chair, in its simplest definition is a chair where the back stays, arm supports and legs are all socketed into round holes in the seat. With 250 years of history under its belt on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean it is one of the most widely used designs. The name itself probably comes from where they were mainly produced in the eighteenth century. They used to be called stickbacks but many of the chairs and chair parts were sold in Windsor market near Buckinghamshire. We see the Windsor name in print going all the way back to 1724 where Lord Percival made mention of one.
These stickback chairs no doubt have an even older history and when looking at a late eighteenth century Welsh low back windsor it’s easy to see how the evolved from much older three legged stools common on most farms.
These early country designs began to evolve and assume crisper lines, some elegance and lightness to them.
The Wycombe area was known for producing some of the finer chairs and produce them they did. Mechanization was in its infancy and it is beleived that the first mass produced items were in fact Windsor chairs. Wycombe in its heyday was producing close to 5 000 chairs a day
Windsor chairs were produced in volume in America as well. One main difference in the acceptance of the Windsor is that while it was always seen as a country or garden piece in England while in America from the start it was accepted in homes of all classes.
As the styles evolved we begin to see bow back, fan back, comb back and other varieties take shape. Here are a few styles:
Arch Back – America 1765 – 1780, mainly made in New England it had the back bow arched together with the back and arms
Arrow Back – America 1810 – 1835, often made of maple the back splats resembled arrows while the arm were shaped in a cyma curve
Bow Back 18th and 19th century, also called a sack back can be seen in many of Dickens’ illustrations, the comb was replaced by a bent bow giving the back a double bow
Chippendale Windsor – English 1770 – 1800came from designs associated with the Chippendale Director 1754, often with pierced splats and cabriole legs
Comb Back Windsor chair 1700 – 1900 England and America
Goldsmith chair from Oliver Goldsmith, a Windsor comb back that is still produced and featured splayed legs with an H stretcher
Philadelphia Comb Back from 5 to 9 spindles running straight up to the comb
New England comb back 1740 – 1780 balauster turned legs and a more angled rake
Fan Back Windsor 1750 onwards comb back
Gothic Windsor 1760 – 1780 England, bow back with gothic carved and pierced splat, similar to church windows and archways
Captain’s chair 1875 – 1900 America from Mississippi river boats, arms curve downwards
Firehouse Windsor 1850 – 1870 America U shaped seat with 7 spindles found in - you guessed it, volunteer firehouses as well as hotels
Smoker’s bow 1830 onwards found in reading rooms, clubs, inns (as well as the old Peel Pub in Montreal), sturdy construction
Scroll back 1860 – 1890 Regency style with no bow and sticks or comb with the back uprights scrolled over
Writing Chair 1760 – 1860 America, not produced in England but found all over America and done with many diferent Windsor styles
George Hepplewhite was a noted London chair and cabitnetmaker. Born about 1727 he passed away in 1786 and was survived by his wife Alice Hepplewhite. In fact it was Alice who,in 1788, published a book with about 300 of his designs. George himself remains a bit of an enigma. No one for certain can be sure if the own a chair that was actually built by the Hepplewhite business or just a piece created in the Hepplewhite style. The history of george Hepplewhite remains obscure though his simple, elegant design is well sought after.
It is said that he was influenced by the then recent excavations at Pompeii. Although his contemporaries, including Chippendale, were curving legs and using fancy carvings, Hepplewhite prefered the grace of straight legs and is best known for the shield design on the backs of his chairs. The french appeared to have noticed Hepplewhite’s designs and influence of it can be seen in the Louis XVI design. Hepplewhite designed bowfront chests are known for having convex fronts that were terminated with concave corners. Hepplewhite had a couple of distinctive features. One being the shield backs that we mentioned; the other being a feather carving inspired by the feather in the hats worn by The Prince of Wales as they were friends.
Some scholars say that Hepplewhite’s designs reflect the simplecity of the post revolutionary war period while others say he led this movement and displays some of the lightest and most elegant designs using the bold coloring of well grained wood along with little or no carving.
April 8th, 2010 | Posted in Hepplewhite | Comments Off
Thomas Sheraton: born 1751 Durham, England — died Oct. 22, 1806, London
There are only a handful of designers that end up having an entire period of design bearing their name. Next to Chippendale there are none more respected than Thomas Sheraton. The Sheraton antique chair is the pinnacle of symmetry and refinement.
Sheraton was a man of many talents. He was well known not only for drawing and design but also for writing, religeous writing to be exact.
Like Hepplewhite, Thomas Sheraton’s enduring mark on furniture design can be attributed to a landmark book. Sheraton’s book, The Cabinetmaker and Upholsterers’ Drawing Book is still used today and really helped usher in the Regency period. Over 600 cabinet makers subscribed to this multi volume work. This is why we state that his influence came more from his books than actual woodworking. Also like Hepplewhite, very little is known about his actual work. It is not even certain if he created any of his designs or confined himself to drawing and writing while letting others build the pieces. One thing that is certain is that he was never able to pull himself out of a life of poverty. Quite ironic when we consider the value of a ‘Sheraton’ piece today.
Now about the Sheraton antique chair.
His designs tended to have a strong symetrical feel. Sheraton designs are known for the details. He liked to adorn his chairs with carvings, paint and inlays. As his styles evolved and he began experimenting with the newly popular Empire style this trait went a little overboard. Some Sheraton Empire pieces are quite gawdy. But the periode bearing his name produce some trully remarkable works. Some of the best were produced by Duncan Phyfe, mentioned in our Empire period article. Phyfe was prolific and his work covered a few design styles but he is mostly considered a Late Sheraton designer. Back to the antique chair. Look for mahogany to be the wood of choice and Sheraton accented many pieces with brass.
To summarize, like Hepplewhite the period that bears Sheraton’s name was not done so as a direct reference of his products but by later historians to label a specific time period. Sheraton published a remarkable encyclopedia as well as a few other books describing not only his own designs but those that were popular at that time. So to think Sheraton we need not focus on the man and his antique chair but on the furniture made during the very early nineteenth century.
These stickback chairs no doubt have an even older history and when looking at a late eighteenth century Welsh low back windsor it’s easy to see how the evolved from much older three legged stools common on most farms.
