108 
House & Garden 
Gifts 
of Character 
Riddle Lamps and oddments 
are wrought of metal and 
decorated in Silver Estofado. 
They are indeed gifts of in¬ 
dividual character and en¬ 
during worth. If your dealer 
cannot supply you, write us 
direct. Booklet sent on 
request. 
634—Console sticks, 22 in¬ 
ches high, with Vellumesque 
shields, $40 pair. 
636—Boudoir lamp, 14 in¬ 
ches high, with Vellumesque 
shade, $10. . 
601—Boudoir lamp, 12 in¬ 
ches high, with Vellumesque 
shade, $12. 
8214—Aquarium (Gold Es¬ 
tofado Decoration), 39 in¬ 
ches high; 16-inch topaz 
bowl with royal purple edg¬ 
ing; $100. 
621—Floor lamp, 63 inches 
high, with 22-inch Vellum¬ 
esque shade. $45. 
600—Desk lamp, 16 inches 
high with Vellumesque 
shade, $20. 
7219—Book blocs in¬ 
ches high, $6 pair. 
The Edward N. Riddle Co, 
263 Riddle Building 
Toledo, Ohio 
' > 
DECORATIVE LIGHTING FITMENTS 
EARLY AMERICAN CHAIRS 
(Continued from page 106 ) 
reflected in American furniture. In 
1758 Theophilus Hardenbrook, a 
teacher of architectural design, was 
one, if not the first, of the American 
pioneers in advocating furniture along 
the lines of exotic design—Chinese, 
Persian, Roman, Egyptian were but a 
; few of his enthusiasms, though they 
do not seem to have awakened a re¬ 
sponse in the chair-makers. In 1756 
Robert Wallace, a “jovner” was making 
“chairs of any fashion” in his shop on 
the corner of Beaver and New Streets, 
while some five years later John Brim¬ 
mer, a London chair-maker has come 
to New York and holds forth “At the 
sign of the Chair” opposite Flatten 
Barrack Hill, Broadway. Two years 
before (1760) James Rivington, the 
famous New York printer was offering 
j for sale “Books for architects, builders, 
I joiners, etc.” containing designs for 
' furniture. Such books naturally gave 
| impetus to chair-making in the colo- 
I nies. They were comparatively inexpen- 
’ sive and therefore within reach of 
nearly every master-craftsman in the 
new world. 
At this time the South was making 
somewhat feeble efforts at furniture 
construction. In 1757 George Wash- 
ington wrote to London to ask 
Richard Washington to procure for 
j him a dozen strong chairs, remarking 
that he had “one dozen chairs that 
were made in this country; (presum¬ 
ably in Virginia) neat, but too weak 
for common sitting”. 
“The Gentleman’s and Cabinet 
Maker’s Directory” by Thomas Chip¬ 
pendale (1762) and the Batty Langley 
books of design came into the Col¬ 
onies so American cabinet-makers and 
j chair-makers had plenty of “inspira- 
■ tion” from outside sources. 
THE WINDSOR CHAIR 
i 
One of the most interesting devel¬ 
opments of the mid-18th Century in 
American furniture was the Windsor 
chair. Although its origin is unkown, 
probably its history begins in the 
| English countryside, and that examples 
i of the English forms inspired Ameri¬ 
can chair-makers to adopt and to im¬ 
prove upon it. By 1745, the Windsor 
chair was firmly established in Phila¬ 
delphia and by 1760 was popular in 
New York. New England, too, was fa¬ 
mous for its Windsor chairs. There were 
some thirty Windsor chairs on Wash¬ 
ington’s veranda at Mt. Vernon. 
Thomas Jefferson sat in a revolving 
Windsor chair while writing out his 
draft of the Declaration of Indepen¬ 
dence. In New York, Perry Hayes 
and Sherbroke were advertising “Phila¬ 
delphia made Windsor chairs” in 1763. 
The Philadelphia Journal carried Jediah 
i Snowden’s Windsor chair advertisement 
| in 1773. The first New York Directory 
(1786) names Thomas Ash and also 
Leacock and Intle as Windsor chair 
makers. Three years later nine Windsor 
chair makers and ten other chair 
makers were mentioned in the 1789 
Directory. In 1787 Philadelphia 
boasted of no less than fifty-six cab¬ 
inet-makers, twelve Windsor chair- 
makers and seven chair-makers, among 
whom William Savery, supreme furni¬ 
ture craftsman of his day was figured. 
The period of the Revolutionary 
War interfered with American handi¬ 
craft in many localities as might be 
expected, but the post-war activities 
of American chair-makers were unflag¬ 
ging. Hepplewhite’s Sheratons’ Robert 
and James Adams’ and other furni¬ 
ture designs had been published and 
brought to the new nation. French 
furniture too was receiving considera¬ 
tion. A Louis Seize chair was placed 
by Washington in the President’s House 
in Philadelphia, and the President pre¬ 
sented a white and gold Sheraton style 
chair to his friend George Read (signer 
of the Declaration of Independence). 
In 1791 Alexander Hamilton was in¬ 
sisting that American “cabinet-wares 
are generally made little, if at all, in¬ 
ferior to those of Europe”. Exporta¬ 
tion of American made pieces was con¬ 
siderably extended. In 1795 appeared 
the second edition of “The Journey¬ 
man’s Cabinet and Chairmakers’ Phila¬ 
delphia Book of Prices” and from the 
sixty or more entries concerning chairs 
therein, we may derive some idea of 
the importance to which chairmaking 
had then attained. 
THE “FANCY” CHAIR 
About 1797 William Challen, former¬ 
ly of London but then established in 
New York, introduced what was known 
as the “Fancy” chair to America. 
These were black, white, green, or yel¬ 
low, with yellow or gilt decoration. In 
1802 William Palmer of 2 Nassau 
Street, New York was advertising the 
black and gold sorts; in 1806 William 
Mott of 51 Broadway stocked green, 
white and gilt fancy chairs; in 1812 
Asa Holden of 32 Broad Street sold 
ball and spindle fancy chairs and in 
1817 Wharton and Davies were selling 
other fancy chairs. Fancy chairs re¬ 
mained in vogue till 1830. 
The influence of Sheraton design 
is found in the best American chair 
work of the early part of the 19th 
Century, an influence to be noted in 
the best work of Duncan Phyfe of 
New York. 
James Monroe brought home with 
him from France twelve chairs in Em¬ 
pire style. From 1810 on the taste for 
Empire furniture supplanted the taste 
for Sheraton pieces. Duncan Phyfe 
and other craftsmen helped foster this 
misfortune and it all led to the de¬ 
velopment of the “American Empire” 
pieces, rampant in veneer from 1830 
to> 1840, so often proving to be atroci¬ 
ties of the first water. 
As the 19th Century grew apace, 
furniture-making extended throughout 
the land. Dewitt Clinton was writing 
of the industrious chair-makers of Can- 
daigna, New York State as early as 
1820. It was in this year, also, that 
someone discovered the advantage of 
lengthening the rockers of rocking 
chairs by a rear extension which added 
to their safety. The frequenters of 
20th Century summer resorts should 
erect a monument to the memory of 
this unknown benefactor. 
With the mid-19th Century our little 
flight into the lore of American chair¬ 
making may come to a pause as we 
will find ourselves sure, if taking wing 
for a league further, alighting on the 
haircloth chair which added to the 
horrors of the Civil War, although 
just a hundred years before Mrs. Ben¬ 
jamin Franklin wrote to her celebrated 
husband who was then in London 
"The chairs are plain horse hair, and 
look as well as Paduasoy, and are ad¬ 
mired by all.” We try not to doubt 
her credulity! 
