CONTENTS Introduction 7 The British Chair by Adam Bowett
9
100 British Chairs
Panel-Back Chairs, c.1540–1680
14
Chairs, c.1600–1740
22
Banister-Back Chairs, c.1720–50
38
Giles Grendey Chairs, c.1735–45
48
Upholstered Chairs, c.1715–45
54
Windsor Chairs, c.1760–1820
66
Historicist Chairs, c.1820–1900
74
Gothic Revival Chairs, c.1840–80
80
Morris & Co. Chairs, c.1860–90
88
Aesthetic Movement Chairs, c.1870–85
94
Arts and Crafts Chairs, c.1885–1930 100 The Vernacular Tradition
Arts and Crafts Chairs, c.1895–1905 C.F.A. Voysey
112
Arts and Crafts Chairs, c.1885–1905 Towards Modernism
118
John Makepeace Chairs, c.1990
130
Index
137
Materials / Finishes / Marks 141 Acknowledgements 143
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INTRODUCTION This book introduces a selection of chairs from two private collections of British decorative arts in the United States, with a few additions from other sources. Although presented in a roughly chronological sequence, it is not intended to be a history of British chairs; rather, it reflects the core strengths of those private collections and the collecting interests of their owners. The emphasis is on early (pre-1750) and late (post-1840) periods, with no examples of mid-eighteenth-century Chippendale rococo or Adam neo-classicism, nor of the revived Greek and rococo styles of the early and mid-nineteenth century. The presentation is also thematic, and this more accurately represents the purpose of the book, which is to illustrate some of the key developments in British chair design in the chosen periods. Design and development before 1750 were largely the work of artists and craftsmen whose names have been lost, so the chairs are mostly unattributed and arranged by type and period. The later chairs are arranged differently, highlighting the work of well-known designers of the Gothic Revival, Arts and Crafts, and other progressive British design schools. The caption for each chair is intentionally brief, and readers wanting more detailed information can find it, together with numerous images, in the full online catalogue at www.crabtreefarmcollections.org. These captions reflect the most up-to-date information and opinion at the time of publication. The online catalogue entries contain more detailed discussion of materials, construction, condition and provenance when known. The online catalogue aims to be a forum for debate and the dissemination of knowledge. In this way, historic British chairs that until now were not available for study and comment can be made accessible. The online catalogue will be developed continually and updated to include new research.
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PANEL-BACK CHAIRS c.1540–1680 Panel-back chairs are the most numerous type of early British chair to survive.Their survival owes much to solid construction – with pegged mortise and tenon joints – and durable materials (chiefly oak). This system of construction, employed by joiners throughout the British Isles, produced predominantly rectilinear forms that were nevertheless capable, through variations in proportion and differences in carved, turned and inlaid ornament, of almost infinite variety. In stylistic terms, all these chairs, even the earliest, embody the Classical style of architecture and design that arrived in England at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Chair legs and arm supports are conceived as columns and the frames are decorated with a broad repertoire of lunettes, guilloches, flowerheads, vines and other foliage, all derived from the new decorative styles emanating from France and Italy. All the chairs in this section are armchairs and were, therefore, created as highstatus objects for high-status people. Three (1, 2, 3) have decorated backs recording their original owners. All were members of the provincial gentry; they were not aristocrats but landowners and businessmen, men of standing in their communities and closely tied by inheritance and marriage to their localities. Their chairs embody the solid virtues of family, land and tradition that underpinned British society at this time. Only one, Sir John Arundell (1495–1561), was a national figure. He was a soldier who served Henry VIII in both war and peace, acquiring the soubriquet ‘Tilbury Jack’ while in command of the king’s navy. It is perhaps significant that his chair can be disassembled for travel and, perhaps, even for shipboard use. Another owner, Sir Richard Wilbraham of Woodhey (1579–1643), became a victim of the Civil War between king and Parliament (1642–49). After trying unsuccessfully to prevent his hometown of Nantwich in Cheshire from being drawn into the conflict, he was arrested by Royalist forces and died in prison. One chair has iron staples to allow it to be carried, like a sedan chair (4). Perhaps its owner became infirm, or perhaps he attained some civic office that entitled him to be carried aloft on the shoulders of his supporters. A well-known engraving by the eighteenthcentury artist William Hogarth (1697–1764), Chairing the Member (1755), shows the newly elected Member of Parliament being carried in such a fashion. Chairs for well-born children (5) survive in surprising numbers, an indication, perhaps, of the sentimental value attached to such objects, as well as their appeal to modern collectors. The one shown here has the distinctive pyramid finials and profile-cut crest rail of chairs made in North Cheshire and South Lancashire.
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1 Armchair, c.1540–75 Oak
The back is carved with the arms of Sir John Arundell of Trerice, near Newquay, Cornwall. This chair can be disassembled and packed for travel.
PA N E L- B AC K C H A I R S , C .15 4 0 – 16 8 0
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2 Armchair, c.1590–1621 Oak
The back is painted with the arms of Sir Richard Wilbraham of Woodhey, Cheshire, created baronet in 1621. The date ‘1621’ on the chair back has been obscured by dirt and wear.
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3 Armchair, c.1620–50 Oak
This chair bears the heraldic badge of the double-headed eagle, possibly the arms of the Speke family of Whitelackington House, Ilminster, Somerset. The top edge of the back panel is stamped with the initials ‘TW’. It was formerly in the collection of early oak specialist Tobias Jellinek (b.1934).
PA N E L- B AC K C H A I R S , C .15 4 0 – 16 8 0
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4 Armchair, c.1600–50 Oak
The iron staples, probably added in the eighteenth century, were intended to accommodate two wooden poles for carrying the occupant aloft.
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5 Child’s high chair, c.1660–80
The back is carved with the initials ‘IB’. This type of chair is known to have been made in North Cheshire or South Lancashire.
Oak
PA N E L- B AC K C H A I R S , C .15 4 0 – 16 8 0
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6 Armchair, c.1680 Oak and chestnut
This is an unusually low chair, with low arms and a drawer to one side beneath the seat, and may have been used for needlework. Chairs of this type are sometimes called nursing chairs.
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CHAIRS c.1600–1740 The chairs in this section span about a century and illustrate a period of remarkable stylistic and material change. Some types of chairs, such as the upholstered backstool and its armed counterpart (8, 9), changed little during the course of the seventeenth century. The simple, boxy form was economical to make and to upholster. Turkey-work and leather upholstery were particularly popular because of their modest cost and durability, and were commonly found in ‘middling’ and upper-class homes. Much leather was imported, especially from Russia, and Turkey-work was so called because of its resemblance to Oriental carpets. It was made in several parts of England, but particularly in Yorkshire, whence it was carried to London for sale. Its popularity was accounted for by its modest price, bright colours and durability. Wooden backstools or chairs showed greater variation, revealing different styles existing in parallel. The Lancashire and Manchester backstools (10, 11) and the twist-turned chair (14) are probably contemporary in date, but in stylistic terms the first two look back to the 1630s, while the third embodies the new fashions of the 1660s. Even more radical were the cane chairs (12,13,16,17), which replaced traditional upholstery or panelled backs and seats with woven strips of cane imported from the Far East.These chairs first emerged in London in the 1660s, and by 1700 were probably the most common seating type found in middle- and upper-class English houses. Their rapid stylistic development means that they can be closely dated, as innovation followed innovation over a period of about fifty years, until, about 1710–15, they began to fall from favour. Cane chairs aside, most new furnishing ideas came from France. The scrolled-leg or horsebone chair (7) was an English variant of the fashionable French os de mouton chair developed in Paris in the 1670s. By 1700 it had reached its ultimate development and was probably the most common design of upholstered chair found in high-status houses. The pillar-leg or cross-frame chair (20), so called because of the shape of its legs and stretchers, respectively, was another French innovation that became popular in England in the 1690s and remained in fashion until the 1720s. Upholstery fabrics were available to suit most pockets, ranging from plain English woollens to colourful needlework, silk damask and rich velvet. These stylistic changes occurred against a background of rapid economic growth created by burgeoning overseas trade, which created both a demand for luxury and the means to pay for it. The manufacture of upholstered furniture in silk, velvet and wool, in greater quantities than ever before, is one manifestation of the new wealth. It is fair to say, however, that the survival rate of these more expensive fabrics has been greater than that of plain English woollens, so we have a somewhat skewed impression of everyday furnishings of this period. Outside London, the pace of change was much slower. Local materials and traditional forms persisted in rural and remote areas, often with only the slightest acknowledgement of metropolitan fashions (18, 19). This was often a question of choice rather than necessity, testifying to the importance of local values in rural societies.
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7 Armchair, c.1702 Japanned beech with original needlework
This chair is one from a larger set made for the state bedchamber at Drayton House, Northamptonshire, during the time of Lady Mary Mordaunt (1659–1705), 7th Baroness Mordaunt. The embroidery was supplied by Rebecca Dufee and Elizabeth Rickson. The seat rail block bears a partial label of Phillips of Hitchin.
C H A I R S , C .16 0 0 – 174 0
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8 Backstool, c.1620–40 Oak, now with 19th-century velvet
The bottom rail is branded ‘AR’. The chair was formerly in the collection of the early oak specialist Victor Chinnery (1944–2011).
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9 Armchair, c.1650–75 Oak, now with 17th-century Turkey-work
C H A I R S , C .16 0 0 – 174 0
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10 Backstool, c.1670–1700 Oak
The back is carved with a dragon. This style of chair was made in Lancashire and North Cheshire, and is often called a Lancashire chair.
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11 Backstool, c.1660–90
This style of chair was probably made in or around Manchester and North Cheshire, and is sometimes called a Manchester chair.
Oak
C H A I R S , C .16 0 0 – 174 0
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12 Armchair, c.1688 Walnut and cane
The crest bears the royal Stuart coat of arms. The seat rail is carved with the inscription ‘GEORGE LEWIS—FEBVERY 20—ANNO DO—1687/8’. It was formerly in the collection of the antiquarian George W. Braikenridge (1775–1856) of Broomwell House, Brislington, near Bristol.
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13 Chair, c.1685–1700 Walnut, beech and cane
The crest, back and fore-stretcher are carved with cherubs, serpents and bearded males.
C H A I R S , C .16 0 0 – 174 0
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14 Chair, c.1670–1700 Oak
This type of chair is described in late seventeenth-century documents as ‘turned all over’. It is one of a set of six.
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16 Armchair, c.1710–15 Walnut and cane
The crest and lower back rail are stamped on the reverse ‘RW’, possibly the initials of the carver. The crest rail and left back upright are also stamped on the reverse ‘WH’, possibly the initials of the framer.
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17 Armchair, c.1710–15 Walnut and cane
The crest and fore-stretcher are carved with a wheatsheaf mounted on a coronet.
C H A I R S , C .16 0 0 – 174 0
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18 Child’s high chair, c.1720–40
The back splat is modelled on fashionable banister-back chairs introduced in the 1720s.
Oak and elm
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20 Chair, c.1710–15 Walnut and beech, now with early 18th-century needlework
Early eighteenth-century documents refer to this as a cross-frame or cross-stretcher chair. It is one of a pair.
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