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Chairs, Chairs and More Chairs

Today, people take chairs for granted. There are so many kinds and styles that it’s often hard to choose which ones to use. But before chairs came into their own in the 15th Century, stools, about the height of a chair seat, were even more common. They were made in great numbers and doubled as seats and tables, especially in the homes of common folk.

Chairs of all kinds became more important than stools because the new styles transformed them into movable, decorative furniture instead of simple seats.

Side chairs and armchairs, which were really side chairs with wood arms attached, offered little choice when it came to comfort. In addition to solid backs, there were slat-back chairs, which had three or more wide and usually shaped wooden pieces horizontally across the back. The banister-back chair had fairly wide vertical slats surmounted by a crest or top rail. Some of these top rails, as well as the banisters, were more richly carved than others.

The latter part of the 17th Century, technically known as the Restoration period in England, brought forth lighter and more adaptable chairs. Special turnings, scrolled and more elaborate stretchers, became fashionable. Decorations expanded to include lacquer, marguetry, and some inlay.

The wing chair appeared before 1700. It was probably the first comfortable one and certainly the first upholstered one. The wings attached to the frame of the back served the same purpose as hangings on a bed--that is, they cut off drafts. Earlier, settees had been no more than wood benches with arms and backs. Between 1660 and 1690, sofas began to have covered arms and backs.


From this time forward, to identify the period to which side chairs or armchairs belong, the characteristics of certain parts must be noted. The shape of the front legs, also the back legs, and the kind of feet were usually typical. Stretchers and their placement are almost as important. Stretchers disappeared during some periods–-the Queen Anne chairs designed by Thomas Chippendale, for instance. The back of a chair and particularly the vertical or horizontal pieces or splats and the crest rail were subject to many changes, and are perhaps easiest to keep in mind.