Images(4)

Banister Back Arm Chair

Maker Michael Maps

Period1750 - 1800

MediumMaple, ash

Dimensions41.75 × 25 × 19.5 in. (106 × 63.5 × 49.5 cm)

InscribedA handwritten adhesive tape label formerly affixed to the underside of the rush seat reads, "From Farm House / in New Jersey / Property of / Mrs. J. A. Haskell."

ClassificationsSeating Furniture

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1936

Object number2017.703

DescriptionThis arm chair features a yoke shaped crest rail and a plain rectangular shoe with five flat grooved banisters flanked by a pair of baluster turned stiles ending in tapered button finials. The chair's arms end in unusual flattened circular terminals, and are supported by two baluster turned arm supports which have conical terminals where they enter the arms. The lower front posts, which incorporate flattened ball elements, end in small ball feet, which are original. The front pair of stretchers are sausage turned, whereas the side and rear stretchers are plain. The woven rush seat is a recent replacement.
Curatorial RemarksFirst published in 1952 as an example of an arm chair made by Michael Maps of West Long Branch, Monmouth County, this banister-back chair at quick glance appears so different from the more common slat back arm chairs attributed to this German-born chairmaker that the attribution seems doubtful. Closer examination, however, confirms that both types are made in a single shop. Common characteristics include the use of sausage-turned front stretchers, the inclusion of flattened balls in the front posts, and the articulation of the baluster and conical shape of the terminals in the arm supports. The feet on most Maps chairs have typically been lost. Those on this chair, of bulbous form, retain virtually their entire height.NotesA native of Germany born in Gutersloh, Westphalia, Michael Maps (1728 - 1802) sailed for America from Rotterdam in 1754. Initially indentured to George Smith for seven years in payment for his passage, he subsequently married Smith's daughter Barbara and settled on Smith land in the present borough of West Long Branch, Monmouth County. Maps, who was a chairmaker and wheelwright, died in 1802. He was also an ardent early member of the Independent Methodist Church, and is buried in that denomination's cemetery in West Long Branch. His estate inventory, taken on September 5 1802, lists "three Cheer racks," and "One Grindstone, one set of Carpenter Tools, one lot of Cheer and Wheel Stuff." A son and grandson followed Maps in the chairmaking trade. They were Frederick Maps (1756 - 1818) and Zenas Maps (1786 - 1862), both of whom occupied the homestead in West Long Branch. For other examples of chairs attributed to Michael Maps, see accession numbers 1990.611, 1990.624, 1992.520, and 2017.2.1. An extended discussion of Maps can be found in the Curatorial Remarks of 2017.2.1.

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