The bread and butter of the Windsor trade in the 1790s was the bow-back, side chair. Introduced in Philadelphia in the mid-1780s, it was originally referred to as a Philadelphia oval back chair. The pattern was soon being made all over New England and the Mid-Atlantic. The design was suitable for use around a dining table and took up less room than the popular fan-back chairs. This bow back arm chair features arms, with New York style turnings, and a tail brace. It is finished in buttermilk milk paint with gold leaf paint details.
As with all of our Windsors, each chair begins with locally milled green lumber. Every seat is hand-carved from Eastern White Pine. We do all of our turnings by hand on a lathe out of maple or black birch. Every spindle is rived and shaved on a shave horse to ensure the grain is left unbroken from end to end. This traditional process is repeated on the chair's back before steaming and bending. The legs are set using a traditional tapered lock joint which increases the chair's stability.
Finally, everything is wedged, hand sanded and finished.