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Shaker Craftsmanship: Ladder-Back Chairs

adder-back chairs date back to the Middle Ages when they could The Seat
be found in homes across Europe. By the 17th century, it was When making the seat, the Quakers assessed the
Lamong the most common style of chairs used in England, and by choices currently used—rush, wooden, or cane—
the middle of that century, luxury furniture makers began to make and chose web seating as the best option to use.
ladder-back chairs out of walnut with added refined decorations and Unlike the other available materials, the web seating
engravings. would not dry out or break, nor would it snag fabric
These chairs became staples in homes across colonial America, and or pinch the sitter.
remain among the most popular style of chair used in the dining room These colorful “listings,” or cotton cloth tape,
and as side chairs throughout the house. As new “Believers” joined the were originally homespun and colors were made using roots, vegetables,
Shaker community, they brought popularly styled Federal period or fruits. Over time, as firmer machines were developed, the tape was
furniture with them and in turn influenced what the Shakers made for also made from woolen worsted or cotton
use in their homes going forward. canvas. The Shakers later bought twill cotton
Within the confines of the burgeoning New webbing when it was being made in the 1860s
Lebanon, NY Shaker community during the and continued to make their own.
18th and 19th centuries, these chairs formed The webbed seat is often hailed as a Shaker
what some would call a spiritual partnership Innovation. Because they were quick and simple
with the makers thanks to its clean and simple to weave, the webbing also lent to the efficient
design. The goal was to create a chair with construction of the chair. Typically, a web seat
minimal ornamentation or decoration. Each could be made in about three hours. It was
motion involved in making the chair was seen as woven by carefully measuring the sides of the
a type of meditation for the maker. The simpler seating to determine the width of webbing to be
the chair, the more pure the effort. used (generally 5/8” to 1”) and then using a

simple alternating color weaving technique to
Structure form a checkerboard pattern.
Careful measurements were determined through trial and error in
order to create a lightweight yet strong chair. A slight backward angle Variations
resting on the chair’s back legs, and a finish honed to a warm, smooth, Variations on the basic ladder-back
and comfortable feel. When making a chair for a particular member, chair included those made with arms, a
measurements were taken and the chair was made to best support their lower back with one or two slats to use
stature (the number of slats could range from one to six!). Ergonomics in the woodshop, some with wider arms
were also taken into consideration so the chair could hold the person to accommodate handwork such as
without putting any undue stress on the body while work is being done sewing and knitting, and a rocking
– especially sewing. Craftsmanship in all things was the key.
version with and without arms.
On variation was so innovative it was
granted a patent on March 2, 1852. The
intent of the invention was to incorpo-
rate “a new and improved mode of
preventing the wear and tear of carpets
andthe marring of floors, caused by the
corners of the back posts of chairs as
they take their natural motion of rocking backward and forward,”
according to its inventor George O. Donnell in New Lebanon, New
York. “Tilting buttons” were placed on the two back legs that made it
a tilting chair that was sometimes referred to as “tilters,” or a “swiveling
tilter” that allowed the flat underside of the foot to stay level when the
chair was tilted back, typically done after a good meal.

The woods chosen for the chairs included a hard or “rock” maple, Mass Production and Competition
pine, poplar, oak, cherry, and other indigenous hardwoods near any Only one of the Shaker Villages actually used mass production
particular village. Once the wood is assessed for its quality and strength, methods to sell their ladder-back chairs to the general public – New
the work begins. The makers would design each part of the chair to be Lebanon, New York. Other communities did trade and sell to their
simple with very little symbolism built in, but the slight variations to the surrounding communities those things that
design of the finials and slats were made as a simple gesture to their faith. helped the greater good, but when it came to
There were some differences found in design from village to village. sales numbers, the ladder-back chairs sold in
According to the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, Massachusetts, the thousands.
“The chairs produced at Enfield, Connecticut, for example, display a Shakers did not necessarily dismiss mod-
slender symmetrical finial that ends abruptly at a well-defined neck. ern machinery, but according to the Met
Those found on chairs from South Union, Kentucky, resemble an ‘egg Museum, “Many pieces were made with cir-
in a cup,’ while those found on chairs from Enfield, New Hampshire, cular saws, steam-powered lathes, and other
looked like a candle flame.” These differences help historians identify mechanical devices.”
and date chairs. Shakers’ attention to detail and quality sold
Because each element of the chair was useful, the finials made a their chairs in an era when mass-produced
handy part to grab when moving the chair. The chair legs were smooth furniture was synonymous with shoddy
and just the right size to grab when moving the chair to hang on the construction. The Shakers created their own
wall – upside down. By keeping them that way, the chair seat would not “mark” applied to the chairs to verify to the
accumulate too much dust. buyer this was a true, quality piece.

20 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles