Side Chair
Period1740 - 1760
MediumCherry, and sweet gum (determined by microanalysis)
Dimensions39.75 × 22.25 × 21 in. (101 × 56.5 × 53.3 cm)
MarkingsOne of the side chairs is marked "II" on the inside front seat rail and on the underside of the front slip seat rail, while the other is marked "VI" in the same locations.
ClassificationsSeating Furniture
Credit LineGift of Gilbert H. Van Note, Executor of the estate of Elizabeth Vredenburgh Knight, 1977.
Object number1977.3.4
DescriptionOne of two. A Queen Anne style side chair with a yoke-shaped crest rail, solid vase-shaped splat, and plain seat rails above two front cabriole legs ending in pointed pad feet. The rear stiles are shaped and curved above the seat, then chamfered and canted below, an unusual feature. The chair's seat rails are rabbeted to accommodate the slip seat, which retains its original foundation upholstery consisting of webbing, roughly woven linen, and stuffing, as well as its bright red wool damask cover now badly worn and faded on its exposed surface. The second chair of the pair also retains its original foundation upholstery but has been recovered with green-painted and glazed canvas.Curatorial RemarksThis fine pair of chairs, made in New York City, both retain their original foundation upholstery including the stuffing. The original red wool damask cover also survives on the chair illustrated. It had been protected by a later covering of green damask which has since been removed. The second chair had been recovered with green-painted and glazed canvas which is still present, and then later with green damask now removed. The Association's two chairs are numbered II and VI. A third example presumed to be from this same set is at the Winterthur Museum, illustrated in American Furniture: Queen Anne and Chippendale by Joseph Downs, number 108. It is numbered XII. In typical New York fashion, the corner blocks consist of a facing affixed to secondary wood blocks tenoned into the legs.NotesThe earliest known owner of this pair of chairs is Col. Edmund Tylee Williams (1804 - 1888) of Shrewsbury, Monmouth County. He was a son of Tylee Williams (1768 - 1828) and Elizabeth Hartshorne (1771 - 1849). The chairs could have come from either branch of this distinguished family. They could also have come to his wife Lucy Grant Carpender (1811 - 1879) from her parents William Carpender (1773 - 1816) and Lucy W. Grant (1785 - 1847), also of Shrewsbury. The pair then descended in the Williams family to Edmund's daughter Elizabeth "Bessie" Hartshorne Williams (1845 - 1928), who married William H. Vredenburgh (1840 - 1920) of Freehold. They then passed to their daughter Amelia Lippincott Vredenburgh (1871 - 1966), who married Samuel Robinson Knight (1871 - 1931) of Spring Lake, Monmouth County. The last owner was their daughter Elizabeth Vredenburgh Knight (1911 - 1976), who remained single. Following her death, the chairs and many other family heirlooms were donated to the Monmouth County Historical Association by her executor, Gilbert H. Van Note.
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