Side Chair
Period1740 - 1760
MediumWalnut and hard pine, as determined by microanalysis
Dimensions39.75 × 21.3 × 20.75 in. (101 × 54.1 × 52.7 cm)
MarkingsThe inside upper surface of the front seat rail is marked, "X." The front piece of the slip seat frame is marked, "VIII."
ClassificationsSeating Furniture
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Amory L. Haskell in memory of his mother, Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1944
Object number1938
DescriptionA Queen Anne style side chair with a rounded yoke-shaped crest rail, solid vase-shaped splat, and plain seat rails lacking a molded upper edge that sit on cabriole legs ending pad feet. Three cut out flat stretchers form an H-shaped assembly. The rear stiles have a flat front surface with a bead around their outer edge, but are chamfered on the back. The knee brackets consist of two parts with the facing glued to a backing that is tenoned into the leg. Traces of green paint can be found over the whole chair. The original foundation upholstery remains, as does the original leather cover that also shows evidence of green. It has been repainted in red with a white primer base.Curatorial RemarksAn example of mid-eighteenth century leather upholstered seating furniture made in Philadelphia, this chair was influenced in its design by those imported from Boston, Massachusetts, a major American production center for chairs that were shipped in quantity up and down the eastern seaboard. Philadelphia upholsterer and chairmaker Plunket Fleason (1712 - 1791) expressed his opinion of the competition from New England in a newspaper advertisement that appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette on 23 September 1742: "Made and to be sold by Plunket Fleeson, at the easy Chair, in Chestnut-Street. Several Sorts of good Chair-frames, black and red leather Chairs, finished cheaper than any made here, or imported from Boston, and in Case of any defects, the Byer shall have them made good; an Advantage not to be had in the buying of Boston Chairs, besides the Damage they receive by the Sea." The Philadelphia examples differ from their Boston counterparts in several ways, including the simplicity of the yoke-shaped crest rails, the shape of the solid splats, a bead around the outer edge of the stiles and crest rails, and the use of flat cut out stretchers. For an example of the Boston made prototype, see accession number 2039. For further information, see Philip D. Zimmerman, "The 'Boston Chairs' of Mid-Eighteenth Century Philadelphia," in American Furniture 2009 at http://www.chipstone.org/article.php/599/American-Furniture-2009/The-, retrieved 2 January 2018.
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