Posted 10 years ago
lindap
(1 item)
got the chair from my friend whos father had the chair for a very long time. He passed away a few years ago at 85 yr. her parents were from new england and it could have been her grand parents first. would like any information. thanks linda
Your pictures do not expand so I will ask a question. Is this chair really low compared to a standard size chair? Now far from the floor to the top of the seat? I don't care about total height, it is probable 30 to 36 inches. Last how wide is the seat? Thanks.
That should have been How far from the floor to the top of the seat? My bad (typo)
The chair is shorter than a standard I will measure it when I get home. The seat is large inner springs under seat and it's open. Will follow with measurements
OK, the seat isn't original so a measurement to the side rail will do.
The seat without the cushion across at the front chair rail to chair rail is 20 1/2 in
The back is 18 1/2 in. Front of chair seat to floor is 12 in. Back of chair top of back to floor is 33 in and across the top back is 22 in. I hope that helps thank you for answering me.
Thanks for the measurements they are right on target. I have no doubt your chair is original and at the same time not one of the first. The first ones didn't have arms or a cushion seat (those came later). Pretty much the same dimensions but with some added comfort items so to speak.
The first ones I am aware of in the USA were made by a European immigrant in North East Pa.
If you have a fireplace in your home, set the chair in front of the hearth. The seat of the chair should be at the same height (+ or -) as the hearth. The optimal position to get the benefit of heat being radiated out of the firebox. Originally they were simply called a fireplace rocker.
That isn't the end of the story, more the beginning of the story. Now if you have an antique or even older vintage baby cradle set that beside the chair. The chair seat should be even with or slightly lower than the bottom of the cradle. At some point in time and I am not sure when the chair became referred to as a nursing chair. This type chair was very popular in the entire North Eastern United States and I believe they hit their peak during the depression years.
That isn't the end of the story either. These chairs also came to be called sewing chairs. The explanation I was given by an elder is that you could sit by the fire and keep warm plus be able to see your work from the light of the fire. No oil lamp was needed.
To add a bit more. People today wrongly assume these were a child's chair. I have also heard them associated with spinning wheels which is also wrong because they sit too low to work comfortably.
There are also fakes which are normally easy to spot. There was a company in Western NY that sold a skid kit so you could cut down a standard chair and put rocker skids under it.
The dimensions alone will tell you this is not a toddler or child's chair. I have seen many of them in antique shops wrongly identified and usually quite under priced because the owner had no idea what he had.
You say this was owned by an 85 year old individual and I can totally accept that, however, that doesn't mean I think the chair is 85 years old. I do think the chair deserves a good bit of research. Unmarked chairs are not easy to identify. I have seen late Gustov Stickley chairs that had no marking other than an old paper tag stapled to it. Larkin chairs were commonly just tagged and were mass produced. The issue now is does being mass produced detract from the value? That depends how many survived.
As a guess I would say this chair is probably 1940's or possibly early 50's could be older but the seat would be in question.
That my friend is my two cents worth. Take it for what it is worth.
Thank you so much and a very interesting reply. I enjoyed reading your thoughts and never expected so much information. I thank you very much for your time and for replying so soon. I'm excited to know more about my chair than I did. Thank you again linda
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