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Continuous Bow Windsor Arm Chair
Continuous Bow Windsor Arm Chair
Continuous Bow Windsor Arm Chair

Continuous Bow Windsor Arm Chair

Maker
Period1783 - 1799
MediumMaple and ash
Dimensions35.25 × 21.63 × 22.75 in. (89.5 × 54.9 × 57.8 cm)
InscribedA paper label glued to underside of the seat reads, "Lent by Mrs. J. Amory Haskell / Red Bank."
SignedBranded on the underside of the seat, "I. SPROSON"
ClassificationsSeating Furniture
Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1936
Object number1992.510
DescriptionThe brace-back style maple frame includes a curved and shaped continuous rail that ends in flat scroll arm rest terminals, thirteen taper turned spindles, and two heavier baluster turned arm supports. Two taper turned spindles flare from the small brace tab at the rear of the seat and fit into the underside of the continuous back. The solid saddle seat rests atop four baluster turned and splayed legs braced with a bulbous turned "H" shaped stretcher assembly. Remnants of the chair's original black paint remain.
NotesJohn Sproson (variously spelled as Sprowson, Spruson, and Sprosen) may have been born about 1750, perhaps in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He worked in that city from 1783 to 1788. There are indications that Sproson married Anne (or Anna) Brock on 17 December 1785 in Pennsylvania. He appears numerous times in local tax records and directories. In 1786, he was listed in a Pennsylvania tax list, described as a "chairmaker," and in a 1789 directory he appears as living and/or working on "Front between Arch and Race Streets." About 1789, Sproson moved to New York City, where he partnered for a time with Charles Marsh. Sproson was listed in New York City directories between 1789 and 1793 at 29 Golden Hill. A John Sproson was listed in the 1790 Federal Census, living in New York City. He was active in the Methodist Church and was noted as formally joining the local Methodist congregation on 18 September 1795. This may be the same John Sproson who died intestate at Mount Pleasant, Westchester County, New York, in 1801, whose wife, Ann Sproson, petitioned the courts for his estate.
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