Hi everyone, My first post here! I'm loving the website so far. I've been looking for information about a rocking chair and a set of armchairs that belonged to my grandparents. A fellow poster on Old House Web directed me here. (TY Ray!) We just bought our first new/old house and old furniture seems to go hand and hand with this! I'm a newbie for sure in the antique dept but can't wait to learn. Anyway, I'll start small. I don't expect these to be worth anything, but they have sentimental value, and I was hoping for general information.
This is the rocker. I have questions about the seat? Doesn't seem to be original. Any information would be appreciated. (style, age, etc)
Rocking chair
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Victorian Furniture thread on victorianforum.com · started June 7, 2008 by NrachelMks3 · 8 posts, 1 image attachment · discussion in 2008.
Hi everyone, My first post here! I'm loving the website so far. I've been looking for information about a rocking chair and a set of armchairs that belonged to my grandparents. A fellow poster on Old House Web directed me here. (TY Ray!) We just bought our first new/old house…
Your chair looks to be turn of the century - late Victorian - and the seat may have been cane when it was original. Something like this chair.
Welcome to the forum
Welcome to the forum
Thank you for the welcome and info. I had thought maybe the original seat would have matched the black leather "pillows" on the back. I would have never thought of a caned seat. :-\
It might be easy enough to determine if it had a cane seat...there would be a lot of holes to feed the cane material through. Alternatively, the chair may have always had a leather insert. What is the diameter of the circle?...I see that Rensup.com has some replacement seats, including the following (among others).
http://www.rensup.com/leather-seat/97037.htm
http://www.rensup.com/leather-seat/97035.htm
I don't think that I have ever seen a chair with such selective use of leather (or is it oil cloth?)...particularly in way of the kidneys. I am more used to seeing a patch of leather near the head only...or leather everywhere (like a Turkish job). The leather only at the top and also in way of kidneys is a first for my eyes. Kind of cool!
- Jason
http://www.rensup.com/leather-seat/97037.htm
http://www.rensup.com/leather-seat/97035.htm
I don't think that I have ever seen a chair with such selective use of leather (or is it oil cloth?)...particularly in way of the kidneys. I am more used to seeing a patch of leather near the head only...or leather everywhere (like a Turkish job). The leather only at the top and also in way of kidneys is a first for my eyes. Kind of cool!
- Jason
I guess I will have to remove the current seat and see if there are any indications of cane. The material that is in there now feels more like cardboard and the tacks (?) do not match the others on the chair. They do not go around the seat perfectly either. Very uneven. As for oilcloth, I had to google that, it seems to be more of a vinyl like material? Correct me if I'm wrong, as I am very new at this. The chair (as well as the others) are currently at my Mom's because we live in a construction zone ;) I will have to measure that seat next visit. I will save the link for replacement seats just in case. Thank you!
The back of this chair is the standout feature and quite unique - I've never seen one like it. The seat you have may be a fiber seat - usually applied w/ decorative nails. You shouldn't have to remove the seat to tell if it was once caned - just turn it over and look for holes around the perimeter of the seat cutout. Van Dykes Restorers (good source for replacement/ restoration supplies and material - good prices also. You can request a free catalog from their website) sells replacement seats in several shapes and sizes w/ patterns pressed from the original Brass dyes from 1890's in both fiber - (nice, yet inexpensive - around $10 - $15 ea.) and also in leather ($40 - $50 ea.) Link to about 20 different sizes & patterns: http://vandykes.resultspage.com/search?p=Q&srid=S3%2d3&lbc=vandykes&ts=custom&w=fiber%20seat&uid=705588427&method=and&isort=score&srt=0 woodwright
Just one last thought...if this were my chair, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to have an upholsterer make a black leather circular seat pad/thing that would be nailed down around the top.
I recently bought a spindle-back office chair (1890s, maybe 1900-ish) at auction (it swivels, has wheels, and has a spring rocking mechanism). The seat has a round-shape piece of that oil cloth nailed down with those decorative round-head brass upholstery nails. The cloth is over top of some sort of stuffing (not terribly thick), giving it a padded quality that is very comfy. Looking up from below the seat, I see an old cane seat with some damage (a little bit of a blow-out here & there). My hunch is that it was originally just cane, but the padded seat looks to be nearly as old as the rest of the chair. I almost wonder if the cane, being original, would also have been originally covered by the padded oil cloth top...the purpose of the cane being to hold everything from falling through the circular hole in the chair's seat while providing a comfy-cushy feel for whomever had to sit at a desk all day long (as opposed to a solid wood seat with the padded oil cloth top). Of course, my hunch is that it was only cane when originally made and that the oil cloth was an after-market customization, but I can't be entirely certain on this.
My point here is that, given the black leather at two heights on the back of your chair, I think that a black leather padded seat center would be aesthetically pleasing...well balanced with leather up high, in the mid, and then down low. I'm not sure how you would keep such an arrangement from falling through the hole without some sort of backing material (cane or leather inset). I would probably avoid button-tufting the leather and I'd hope to find some leather that doesn't look "too new" so as to best match the existing material on the chair back. In short, even if it didn't originally have a black leather seat, I think that such a change would not be an unfortunate one. Of course, that is just my opinion...I just don't think that a cane seat or a brownish-leather inset would look quite as nice as a built-in black leather pillow sort of seat. Furthermore, given the presence of leather in way of the kidneys, I can't help but wonder if comfort or supposed medicinal benefits were not major selling points for such a chair, in which case a padded seat would make more sense. ...at least I think that you could justify opting for a thinly padded black leather seat.
- Jason
I recently bought a spindle-back office chair (1890s, maybe 1900-ish) at auction (it swivels, has wheels, and has a spring rocking mechanism). The seat has a round-shape piece of that oil cloth nailed down with those decorative round-head brass upholstery nails. The cloth is over top of some sort of stuffing (not terribly thick), giving it a padded quality that is very comfy. Looking up from below the seat, I see an old cane seat with some damage (a little bit of a blow-out here & there). My hunch is that it was originally just cane, but the padded seat looks to be nearly as old as the rest of the chair. I almost wonder if the cane, being original, would also have been originally covered by the padded oil cloth top...the purpose of the cane being to hold everything from falling through the circular hole in the chair's seat while providing a comfy-cushy feel for whomever had to sit at a desk all day long (as opposed to a solid wood seat with the padded oil cloth top). Of course, my hunch is that it was only cane when originally made and that the oil cloth was an after-market customization, but I can't be entirely certain on this.
My point here is that, given the black leather at two heights on the back of your chair, I think that a black leather padded seat center would be aesthetically pleasing...well balanced with leather up high, in the mid, and then down low. I'm not sure how you would keep such an arrangement from falling through the hole without some sort of backing material (cane or leather inset). I would probably avoid button-tufting the leather and I'd hope to find some leather that doesn't look "too new" so as to best match the existing material on the chair back. In short, even if it didn't originally have a black leather seat, I think that such a change would not be an unfortunate one. Of course, that is just my opinion...I just don't think that a cane seat or a brownish-leather inset would look quite as nice as a built-in black leather pillow sort of seat. Furthermore, given the presence of leather in way of the kidneys, I can't help but wonder if comfort or supposed medicinal benefits were not major selling points for such a chair, in which case a padded seat would make more sense. ...at least I think that you could justify opting for a thinly padded black leather seat.
- Jason
Jason, like you I thought that a leather seat would complete the look of the chair while a cane bottom was used for support as there wouldn`t have been room for any springs or very little padding. I vote for the Cane and Leather theory. : )