All along we have been talking about features of the blog chair that could point to it being a 19th century reproduction.
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| Photo: SHS |
One of these factors is the presence of a sprung seat, which was discussed in the March 1st blog titled Webbing and Through Tenons. Another is the carvings: while they appear to be beautifully composed and in keeping with rococo themes, the overall composition is quite symmetric, instead of asymmetric as an 18th century object would be.
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| Photo: SHS |
Today we discuss the height of the seat of the blog chair. Seat heights have varied throughout the ages. As an upholsterer, I have customized seat heights to fit many a client’s specific needs. They range anywhere from 14” to 21” high; generally the taller seats are more contemporary. To check myself, I just measured the seat height of a side chair here in my office and it is 18 ½ inches tall at the seat.
As mentioned yesterday, I was fortunate to have spoken with Charles Hummel after a lecture he presented at the UW-Madison last fall. We discussed the castor on the blog chair which I drew on a piece of notepaper and he identified its period of manufacture as 1820-25.
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| Illustration by the author, Photo: SHS |
So that would date the chair to the 19th century, right? Again, not so fast! The castor could have been added at a later date!
One way to discern if a castor was added to a chair at a date later than its original manufacture is to examine the place where it was installed. Look for uneven saw and file marks at the tip of the chair leg; dead giveaways that an inexperienced craftsperson was making an adjustment to the circumference of the leg to make it fit the castor.
Does the leg show signs of cracking around the stem of the castor? Again, an inexperienced person would not know that if you drill directly into a chair leg, you weaken the strength of the leg. A stemmed castor would put pressure on the leg every time someone sits on it.
The blog chair castor shows no signs of tampering!
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| Photo: SHS |
Another is to measure the height of the seat of the chair onto which the castor was installed. If the chair seat is unusually high, the castor is evidently added on. Trouble is, I wasn’t sure what measurement would be too high on an 18th century chair since through experience I had seen such a wide variety of seat heights, none of which I researched.
Hummel clarified: if the seat height is greater than 17” at the rail, then the castors were added on. Well guess what?, at the seat rail we have just 17”.
In this photo the top of the rail is at the the very top of the image under the upholstery.
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| Photo: SHS |
The sprung seat itself reaches a height of 21”. Without the castor, the measurement from the bottom of the foot to the top of the seat rail is 15 ½”.
The cumulative evidence is pointing directly to the blog chair as a 19th century reproduction.
We still have more to explore, so don’t go away!
Theresa
Yummy Furniture and Design
theresamhs@sbcglobal.net
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