Older Wooden Chair Identification

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

So I just picked up this piece at an auction and while I know it's not a real "antique" I was curious if anyone could help me make an identification. The first picture is from the auction and as you can see it has a slip cover on it. After getting it off, I found a second set of fabric which I promptly removed revealing the original design as seen in the second two pictures. The pictures make it looks darker than it is but it's solid cherry (not a veneer). The corner brackets feature screws instead of dovetails, however the screws are slotted. The stamps and writing on the bottom are featured in the final picture. I know it's nothing too special but I think it's a pretty neat piece for $2.75 at auction, lol.*

*Disclaimer: I am a woodworker but really bad at identifying older pieces.

Featured Answer

Helen

4 years ago

Obviously a great find for the money because you can't even get a plastic stacking chair for that amount.

As others have posted, fabric is not original but these are incredibly easy to upholster. I grew up with chairs of this style which my mother picked up here and there and she would change the fabric as trends and her mood changed. We didn't have a dedicated dining room so these were used as odd chairs that were scattered around the house in various rooms and then when the gate leg table was unfurled for a large formal dinner, they would be brought out for seating.

There is a style where non-matching but complementary chairs are used for an eclectic feel in a dining room if you stumbled upon others. If you think about what the cost of mediocre dining room chairs are from a midlevel source, it would be a steal.

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Comments (6)

PRN
4 years ago
Your chair is called a rose back chair and was once part of a dining set. I don't think the blue print fabric is original as it shows no wear or fading. If the seat is easily removable from the bottom then the fabric is really easy to switch out. There are many examples of makeovers for these chairs on Pinterest and they are frequently referred to there as being from the 1930's-1940's. Hopefully someone else here can provide you with more information.
Barry Agnew thanked PRN
Fori
4 years ago
Good deal!

It does look 1930s-40s-ish. I have a similar stencil on a 1940s dining set. MAH on mine refers to mahogany. Mahogany in that period was usually stained red so it could be actual mahogany stained red or something else stained red to be like mahogany stained red. (That is a fun sentence.) Or it could be the initials of the guy who put it together.

It could be the original seat fabric if it was my grandmother's. :) She had one of those formal dining rooms that were only used for special occasions and those chairs looked new for decades. The staples don't look original though.
Barry Agnew thanked Fori
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Barry Agnew
Original Author
4 years ago
Awesome thanks to both of you guys. Ya'll were extremely helpful/informative. I was assuming mid 20th Century so that all makes a lot of sense.

Fori - The point about mahogany is super interesting and it actually makes a lot of sense. The hue looked like a spot on cherry but the grain pattern seems to be much cleaner like a mahogany.
lindac92
4 years ago
Actually the stencil "mah" and in the case of this chair "ch" simply refers to the finish, not the wood.

Agree 1930's to 40's but not a particularly "high end" chair and would be made of some easy to work and stain wood like poplar, possibly even maple....but maple doesn't take stain too easily>

The blue toile I am sure was not original to the chair...

Good deal for under 3 bucks! Will likely cost more than that for the tacks to put on a new seat cover!
Barry Agnew thanked lindac92
party_music50
4 years ago
Wow, pretty chair and a great deal!