Can anyone help identify these chairs

9 years ago

Hello, I just got these two chairs at a yardsale and was wondering if anyone knows how old they may be. I am new to antique furniture so any information is appreciated. I thought they may be a Phyfe reproduction, but I haven't found this design anywhere.

Thanks in advance - I solemnly swear I will never paint them!

Laurie

Featured Answer

lindac92

9 years ago

Looking at how the rear part of the seat sticks out over the frame...I still say those are not the seats that belong to those chairs.
The carving is very nice but I think the chairs are lots newer than the seats. That mix of horsehair and cotton batting is older than the chairs look to me.
I have some "Duncan Phyfe" chairs that were new in the 40's....and i know because they were my mother's. and I have redone the seats. There was cotton batts but no horsehair....and the seats are a solid plank, no need for webbing beneath. Those seats look like they might at one time had springs??? but why were they on the chairs you have? I can't figure it out.....
The chairs look like a light wood...according to the nicked parts....and that style was usually mahogany in the earlier years....my chairs are.
But, they are nice chairs....get a piece of ply wood made to fit, cut a piece of 2 inch foam to fit and cover that with some poly batting. Staple your fabric, pulling to put a curve in the edges of the batting and foam, cover the bottom with black muslin tacked on....and you are good to go!!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
1920s - 30s?
Laurie Winiarski thanked carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
lindac92
9 years ago
Nice old chairs....Maybe 20's maybe 70's, maybe lots older, perhaps 1900. They are are just a basic "traditional style. They appear nicely made and with new seat covers will serve you well!
Laurie Winiarski thanked lindac92
Related Professionals
Lake City Furniture & Accessories · Kansas City Furniture & Accessories · Willmar Furniture & Accessories · Hackettstown Furniture & Accessories · Altoona Furniture & Accessories · Everett Furniture & Accessories · Jackson Interior Designers & Decorators · Portsmouth Interior Designers & Decorators · Trenton Interior Designers & Decorators · Pueblo Interior Designers & Decorators · Washington Carpenters · Hagerstown Carpenters · Elizabeth City Carpenters · Taunton Carpenters · Queens Carpenters
Laurie Winiarski
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago

Judging from the seat construction, I would rule out the 70's. So if I do recover it, do I leave the original stuffing?
User
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yep, those are Duncan Phyfe chairs with horsehair stuffing. They're probably from the 20's-30's which is when the bulk of DP was made although some were still manufactured into the early 40's. It was a very popular style and many DR sets still remain.
Laurie Winiarski thanked User
lindac92
9 years ago
Duncan Phyfe was a Scottish cabinet maker who worked in New York between about 1800 to about 1850. His style included open back chairs with a gentle curve to the front leg, but also in the Greco-Roman X leg style.
Somehow people call any chair with an open back and a curved leg "Duncan Phyfe".
Looking again at your picture of the seats on the chair, I wonder if that board with the padding and fabric was not a replacement, and the chairs older than 1920. How about a picture of the chair with the seat off? That seat seems to hang off the front of the chair a bit too much.
Laurie Winiarski thanked lindac92
lindac92
9 years ago
Check these pictures..
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/phla/hd_phla.htm
Laurie Winiarski thanked lindac92
Laurie Winiarski
Original Author
9 years ago
Linda, I will take better pictures. Why it may look too far forward is one seat is off and one attached. The one that was not attached may not have been seeded correctly. Thanks so much. BTW - these were free after a townwide yardsale, so I am very appreciative of your help!
lindac92
9 years ago
As my father-in-law used to say "For free, take! For buy waste time"...
You are going to spend 10 times what they cost and more besides to get them redone.. ;-) but they are definitely worth it!
Laurie Winiarski thanked lindac92
Laurie Winiarski
Original Author
9 years ago
Two more pictures loaded. Comcast doesn't seem to want to deliver the other two yet!
Laurie Winiarski
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for all of your help!
lindac92
9 years ago
That cotton batting is old.....see the seeds in it? There are conflicting views on dating batting by the seeds....some say that batting before the invention of the cotton gin was cleaner, fewer seeds because people picked the cotton cleaner....
But I believe the batting is older than the chairs.
Laurie Winiarski thanked lindac92