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to Study.com, “They brought German A set of set of six (the central support panel of a chair back), knees and
woodworking techniques with them, but 19th century skirts (or horizontal façades) of chairs and case pieces,
also began to incorporate techniques and American country which frequently sit on ball-and-claw feet.”
styles found in nearby English colonies. dining chairs Many makers of this furniture were living and work-
Ultimately, Pennsylvania Dutch furniture retaining their ing in the Philadelphia area, including Thomas Affleck,
represented a distinct interpretation of original light green Benjamin Randolph, and Henry Clifton. Carvers who
many other styles popular in Europe, painted surface, had the hand to create all those scrolls included John
and the colonies throughout this time, the crests of each Pollard and Nicholas Bernard, among others.
decorated with
all created foremost with a focus on util- stenciled designs of Being able to discern a “real” Chippendale from
ity. … it was more important for things fruit and foliage, others could mean a great deal when it comes to value.
to be practical than stylish. Pennsylvania possibly New Things to be aware of include his use of cross-grain
Dutch furniture was noted for its stability England, ca. wood when working with mahogany, concealed screw
and longevity.” 1820-1830. The holes that tell how chairs were transported, and the
As you can see with the circa 1820-30 set sold online for positioning of the arms, among others. The best route
chair shown at right, the chair is embel- about $3,200. to take is to consult a professional.
lished to a level that is decorative without
being overtly ostentatious. Shaker Chairs (1820-1860)
Just as Chippendale chairs involved incredibly intricate design
Chippendale – Real Chippendale elements, the Shakers and other communities like them worked to
Dating between 1755 and 1780, the Chippendale chair brought keep things simple with clean lines, but makers paid no less atten-
the best of the Queen Anne style and added a more refined tion to detail and careful craftsmanship than other furniture makers.
and delicate look to the furniture. According to
christies.com, “many of the pieces were based
on the designs in Thomas Chippendale’s The
Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, first
published in England in 1754.
“The style combined decorative elements
from three distinct sources: French Rococo,
Chinese ornamentation, and Gothic architectur-
al details. Overall, Chippendale is characterized
by a profusion of carving, predominantly on
mahogany, with features including acanthus—
an ornament resembling foliage—opposing ‘C’
scrolls, and ruffled, rocaille motifs on the splat

These six chairs from the Harvard, MA and Canterbury NH communities
were deaccessioned from a Massachusetts institution.
They were sold at a Willis Henry auction for $1,680 in 2016.
As noted in the
September 2022 issue Early American pine
Chair designs by Thomas Chippendale, illustrated in of the Journal Shaker ladderback
The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, (“Shaker Life”), the dining chairs
engraved by Isaac Taylor 1762. goal was to create a featuring rush seats
chair with minimal and tall finials.
ornamentation or
This enormous ca. 1755 decoration. Shaker
armchair is ambitious in ladder- back chairs
both scale and design. Its were also customized
bold contours are enabled by to fit the sitter or
the dense mahogany that community member.
came from the colonized
West Indies. Distinct in its The overall profile of
beautiful grain and light- the chairs remained
reflecting sheen, mahogany adherent to the style
became eighteenth-century guidelines shared
Britain’s “national wood.” among the Shakers.
Thomas Chippendale’s Each element of the chair was made to be useful. The finials
design for this “French made the chair easy to move. The wood used and its construction
Chair,” published in The made them lightweight and easy to handle. Chair legs were smooth
Gentleman and Cabinet- so they could be picked up and hung on the wall – upside down so
Maker’s Director (1754), the seat would not accumulate too much dust.
specified that it “must be Shakers did not dismiss modern machinery when making their
covered with Tapestry, or
other sort of Needlework.” chairs. At Mount Lebanon, where they made chairs to sell to the
Here, the needlework depicts public, the craftsmen often used steam-powered lathes, circular saws,
a scene of the Annunciation, and other mechanical devices to achieve the perfection of these
the feast day when contracts ingenious chairs. Their popularity then and even now has resulted in
for trades and craftspeople fakes being made to take advantage of the market, so it is important
were renegotiated. to meet with an expert when making a purchase.
photo: The Met
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