A low, reclining chair for use with a telescope, the back and seat set at an angle of approximately 120 degrees to each other.

A low, reclining chair for use with a telescope, the back and seat set at an angle of approximately 120 degrees to each other. The back and seat are each made of a single plank of birch, bent into complex curves to support the body. They are butt jointed to provide a single, continuous curve of support with no apparent break between the back and the seat. The back and seat are each attached to the base sections with what appear to be dowels but it is likely that these plugs of wood conceal screws. The base is formed of two arched members, each forming one back and one front foot, the upper surface of the arch recessed to support the lower part of the back and the inner part of the seat. The top of the back is arched, and pierced for a hand-hold. The right leg carries the embossed, brass label of the maker.

No history of this chair is known before its purchase in 1973 from Mrs E. Tyler, Scotforth, Lancaster (Registered File 73/2405).

Object sampling carried out in 1973 by Jo Darrah, V&A Science; drawer/slide reference 5/12. This confirmed that it was made from birch, stained red.

A similar chair was illustrated in the Decoration Supplement of the Architectural Review, vol. LXXXII, July 1937, p. 237, where it was described as a 'cherry-sorter's chair'. It was noted that the sorter used this low chair to sort cherries to and from baskets placed either side of it. That chair had apparently been shown at a recent exhibition of items depicting country life held by Country Life for the National Trust. It is possible, of course, that such a chair was used for this purpose by a particular person and it thus became associated with the activity.

There is another chair of this form by Callaghan in the collections of Temple Newsam House, Leeds: see Christopher Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, vol. III (Leeds: Leeds Art Collections Fund and W. S. Maney and Son Ltd,, in association with the National Art Collections Fund, 1998), no. 712, pp. 591-2. This notes that a variant example by Arthur Simpson of Kendal was sold at Christies 5 February 1992, lot 149. This had rather taller legs. Another, with Callaghan's label but also with higher legs was offered to the V&A in 2006 as a purchase. It is possible that the height of the legs could be modified in relation to the particular telescope that it was used with.

This form of low chair is thought to have been designed for use with telescopes and the person who sold it and labelled it (William Callaghan) was listed as an optician in London street directories between 1859 and his death in 1874, the firm continuing until at least 1914.There are other examples of this chair with the maker's plate, including one at Temple Newsam House, Leeds (Christopher Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, Leeds 1998, cat. no.684, fig.712, pp.591-2). Two other examples were sold Christie's South Kensington, 24th October 2006, lot 26, and 27th November 2007, lot 305. The latter chair (later described as sold Christie's, 27 September 2007, lot 305) was offered for sale again by Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh, 6 July 2016, lot 266. One leg bore a pressed metal label: 'W. CALLAGHAN / 23 NEW BOND ST. / REGISTERED / JAN 15 1872'. The catalogue note, p. 97, states that 'There is some speculation that the label refers to the patent registration of designs for school furniture, rather than the registration of the design for this model.' In April 1978 Mallett's of Bourdon House, London were offering for sale a pair of these chairs. They were said to have come from a house with an observatory.

Versions of this chair with slightly higher frame elements are known and one was offered to the V&A in 2006, also carrying the label of William Callaghan. On 5 February 1992 Christie's, London, offered a similar chair as lot 149. This was described as by Arthur Simpson of Kendal, the maker of arts and crafts furniture, although no mention is made of a label or other marking. The Christie's chair is so similar to the last-mentioned chair, with the higher substructure and a simpler piercing at the top of the back, that it is possible that it was merely retailed by Arthur Simpson. The simplicity of the chair's design would have appealed to an Arts and Crafts maker and further research would be needed to know if he made his own version of it. Another possibility is that Arthur Simpson (1857-1922), who trained with the Lancaster firm of Gillows and set up his first workshop in Kendal in 1881, may have been commissioned by Callaghan to make the chairs. If this is the case, the date of the design must be slightly later than the date of 1873 that appears on the brass plaques. Simpson is generally known for furniture with some carved embellishment. The Musée d'Orsay, Paris, purchased (between 2008-14) a chair made of mahogany seat with ebonised legs, said to have been made by Simpson c.1912 (Museum number: OAO 1930).

In 1937 this form of chair had been described as a cherry-picker's or sorter's chair in the Architectural Review Decoration Supplement, July 1937, from a Loan Exhibition Depicting British Country Life, but the description of how it was used is unconvincing. This erroneous identification remained with this form of chair form for at least thirty years until Peter Thornton, in 1978, made the connection between the chairs sold at Mallett's (mentioned above) and the existence of an observatory in the house from which they came.

See also:
Nikolaus Pevsner, 'The First Plywood Furniture' in the Architectural Review, vol. 84, 1938, pp. 73-76
Nikolaus Pevsner, 'The History of Plywood', in the Architectural Review, vol. 86, 1939, pp. 129-130

This curiously shaped chair was acquired as an early example of the technique of steam-bending wood. Steaming allowed the creation of shapes that would be difficult or impossible to achieve by any cutting technique. The birch seat and back panels would have been softened with steam and then shaped in metal formers.
The chair must have been made for a very particular use and the stamped brass label gives the clue. It is the label of William Callaghan an optician working in New Bond Street, London from about 1859. The firm continued until at least 1914, supplying binoculars, telescopes and other specialist products. William Callaghan must have designed this chair for the users of his telescopes. The label notes a date of 15th January 1873, but that date relates to his patent registration of designs for school furniture, not to any registration of this design.
Whether Callagahan’s made the furniture they designed, or sub-contracted the making to a specialist furniture firm is uncertain.

W.21-1973