HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



fact, the plain wooden chair which is not 

 upholstered is dipped bodily into a large 

 tank of varnish, set upon a stand to drain, 

 and then retouched with a brush, the entire 

 operation being performed in a remarkably 

 short time. The number of coats of shellac 

 or varnish which a chair receives very nat- 

 urally depends upon the grade of the chair. 

 There are various styles of finish, such as 

 weathered, early English, or golden oak, 

 birdseye maple or imitation mahogany, 

 with either a polished or gloss finish. The 

 ■»ery best chairs are made of oak, walnut or 



is not only an adornment to any oflSce, din- 

 ing-room or boudoir, but is a source of gen- 

 uine comfort, which is more than can be 

 said of many other articles of furniture 

 which rank high in regard to "show." Along 

 this same line, though of vastly simpler 

 workmanship, is the making of the cane 

 seats and backs for the cheaper grades of 

 chairs. This cane comes in the form of wide 

 rolls, which are cut into the proper sizes and 

 fastened by means of narrow strips of wood, 

 which are nailed or glued to the rest of the 

 chair. 



plain or carved, depending upon whether the 

 chair is of cheap or expensive style. 



Another peculiar type is the cafe chair, 

 which is pretty because of its simplicity. 

 Besides the office chair, which is a very 

 common type, there are billiard, carriage, 

 hall, jury, typewriter, students' and innumer- 

 able other kinds of chairs, which, as the say- 



BEAUTIFULLY CARVED ARM CHAIK. 



solid mahogany, with a polished or dull Mis- 

 sion finish. The latter especially is quite 

 popular. 



Another important factor in the makiug 

 of a first-class chair is the upholstering. 

 This is done by skilled laborers, who also 

 devote their entire energies to this style of 

 work alone. The best hair and other ma- 

 terials for padding are used, as well as the 

 finest leather, which covers it all. As every- 

 one knows, an elaborate upholstered chair 

 with a springj- scat and soft cushioned back 



The dining chair, iu its many different 

 forms, is perhaps the most common type, 

 ilost of these chairs are without arms 

 and differ from one another chiefly iu the 

 style of back and seat used. These backs are 

 often quite elaborate and are usually cut 

 so as to display the splashy figure in the 

 wood. The ordinary wooden saddle-seat is 

 used more extensively than any other kind, 

 although the cane and leather-bottom chairs 

 are also very popular. Arms are nearly 

 always iu the form of two pieces and are 



ing goes, "Are just the same, only differ- 

 ent." 



In rockers the difference is more marked 

 and some very unique designs are made, one 

 of which is shown in an accompanying illus- 

 tration. 



For the use of the cuts illustrating this 

 article, including that of the Vice-President's 

 chair, the Kecord is indebted to the Johnson 

 Chair Company, which is one of the largest 

 chair manufacturing concerns in the country. 

 Clakence Boyle, Jr. 



Of Interest to the Handle Trade, 



A Tribute. 



Kashville, Tenn., July 27. — Editor Hard- 

 wood Kecord: It was with no small degree 

 of interest that I read the article on ' ' The 

 History of the Handle Business, ' ' by Col. 

 C. D. Gates of Louisville, Ky., in the May 25 

 issue of the Hardwood Record, and having 

 awaited patiently, action from others con- 

 tributing to this history, and finding the 

 ssime not forthcoming we shall ' ' break the 

 ice," with the hope that some of the hun- 

 dreds of handle men scattered throughout the 

 Korth American continent may "fall in" 

 and give us, through the columns of the 

 Hardwood Record, some letters on ' ■ Handle 

 History." Quoting in part from Colonel 

 Gates the following paragraph : 



' ' In looking over the records of these dif- 

 ferent companies I find they had a very pleas- 

 ant and consistent habit of declaring semi- 

 annual dividends ranging from eighty per 

 cent to one hundred per cent a year, not- 

 withstanding that the prices which we are now 

 receiving for handles were about the same 

 as the prevailing prices in 1880, 1881, 1882, 

 1883 and 1884. All the old manufacturers 

 retired with large fortunes. The men con- 

 nected with the early manufacture of handles 

 were men of great ability, force, dignity and 

 power, and if they were to enter one of our 

 association meetings every member present 

 would readily understand why they received 

 dividends of eighty to one hundred per cent 

 on their business, while most of us are satis- 

 fied with a meager eight to ten per cent." 



We think the j^aragraph does the handle 

 men of today an unintentional injustice, as 

 we feel confident the leaders in the handle 

 world today could more than duplicate ths 

 work of their predecessors, notwithstanding 

 the great abilities of those early pioneers. 

 When we take into consideration the condi- 

 tions prevailing in the earlier days of the 

 business and compare them with the present 

 we can readily comprehend why it was pos- 

 sible for one generation of handle makers to 

 pay eighty to one hundred per cent dividends 

 and the others eight to ten per cent. It was 

 the writer's pleasure, as well as privilege, to 

 know these old-time makers of handles, and 

 no one holds their memory in higher esteem, 

 but as we worked at handle making as a boy 



