loyalist.relic
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« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2010, 02:25:04 AM » |
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I'm pleased to report that I can now answer the question that leads this thread. I've finished reading "Upholstery in America & Europe from the Seventeenth Century to World War I", Edward S. Cooke, Jr., Editor. This exceptional reference book is actually the assembled proceedings of a conference in 1979. It was one of the first professional gatherings to focus mainly on the soft structure of seating furniture from America's pre- and immediately post-Revolutionary period.
Upholstered chairs and sofas were very expensive at the time and were only enjoyed by the wealthiest home owners of Boston, Philadelphia or New York. The designs and many of the construction materials and fabrics were imported from England and Europe. Most of the tradespeople in this industry were either recent immigrants or had apprenticed with immigrants. The trade of master upholsterer was considered to be a highly respectable career choice for the sons of wealthy American families.
The frames for seating furniture were built by cabinetmakers and a growing number of specialized chairmakers. The legs and other wood members that would be exposed were usually shaped from imported Honduras mahogany. The rest of the frame would be constructed of native oak, ash or maple.
The upholstery started with a "firm seat", whose base was a grid of woven linen webs, about 2" wide, that were stretched tight and nailed to the frame. A barrier layer of coarse linen fabric was tacked over the web base. Widely spaced linen cords were looped and knotted through the webbing in a regular pattern.
Handsful of washed and coiled horse hair were tucked into the loops and carefully shifted and arranged with a long, blunt needle known as a "regulator". The hair stuffing was built up into a thick, resilient base known as a "cake". Depending on the desired shape, a thick linen edge that was sometimes stuffed with long marsh grass - a "French Edge" - would be sewn around the front and sides of the seat. Sometimes a mat of washed raw wool would be laid over the cake. Another layer of fine linen would then be tacked to the frame, encasing the foundation assembly.
The back and sides of a sofa or easy chair had a similar inner structure, although not as thickly stuffed with horse hair. A thin pad of cotton batting was then laid over the linen cover, to provide a soft surface touch. The finish fabric was attached with closely spaced tacks, to prevent wrinkles and puckering.
The edge of the cover, if not wrapped around the frame rails, would be concealed with either a decorative woven trim strip or, more often, a row - or two - of cast brass nails with domed decorative heads.
Loose cushions were an important element of seating comfort for 18th and early 19th Century upholstered furniture. However, these were almost always lost in subsequent renovations, at which time the built-up firm base construction was usually stripped out and replaced with tied coil springs, as was the prevailing upholstery practice by the late 1800s. The original cushions would have had linen cases generously filled with feathers. The finish covers had boxed edges, with fabric tape finely sewn over the seams.
If feather-filled backrest or arm bolster cushions were included, they were usually loose or just partially attached. Fancy tape trims and tassels would often ornament these cushions. Backrests without loose cushions would either be deeply diamond-tufted or simply button-tufted, to keep the horse hair stuffing from shifting around.
Choices for cover materials in the late Colonial and Federal periods, right up to the 1820s, were generally very expensive imported silk, more affordable imported or American-made worsted wool or fabrics that were blends silk and wool. Available fabric finishes were velvet, satin and damask, of either silk or wool. Roller-embossed figured wool fabrics called moreen and harateen were also popular. Hand-worked decorative embroidery and "Turkey Work" - essentially very fine oriental carpet - were sometimes used.
Makers of upholstered furniture from these early times, up until the 1940s, would usually fit them with printed linen or cotton slip covers. These were light and colourful, often checkered or awning-striped. They would be used during the summer, then removed in the fall, when the more somber and formal permanent covers were considered more socially appropriate.
It was only in the 1970s that museum curators and academics began to appreciate the great historical value of the original upholstery materials and installations, which remain intact on very few surviving chairs and sofas from America's early days. The study of these historical methods guides the authentic restoration of similarly-aged pieces, like my Upper Canada sofa, which may have been "modernized" over a century ago. ~Rob
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