Armchair
1892-1904 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Ladder-back chairs like this were first made in the Middle Ages, but were most widespread between 1700 and 1900. These were simple, inexpensive chairs made and used in rural communities
Materials & Making
Individual regional makers often added characteristic details to the turned and shaped elements. For example, it was usual for the ash rear uprights of ladder-back chairs to be steam bent in a slight reclining curve. However, Ernest Gimson's chair has straight uprights. The rush used to make the seat was either harvested from British rivers during July, or imported from The Netherlands. It was an arduous and skilled job to weave rush seats by hand. They were often undertaken by out-workers after the chairmaker, known as a bodger, had made the frame.
People
Philip Clissett, a traditional chair bodger from the village of Bosbury, Herefordshire, sold some of his chairs to the Art Workers Guild in London in 1888. There, they influenced leading Arts and Crafts architects and designers. In 1890 he taught Gimson how to make ladder-back chairs. Gimson gave up making chairs himself in 1904, after which his designs were made by his assistant, Edward Gardiner.
Ladder-back chairs like this were first made in the Middle Ages, but were most widespread between 1700 and 1900. These were simple, inexpensive chairs made and used in rural communities
Materials & Making
Individual regional makers often added characteristic details to the turned and shaped elements. For example, it was usual for the ash rear uprights of ladder-back chairs to be steam bent in a slight reclining curve. However, Ernest Gimson's chair has straight uprights. The rush used to make the seat was either harvested from British rivers during July, or imported from The Netherlands. It was an arduous and skilled job to weave rush seats by hand. They were often undertaken by out-workers after the chairmaker, known as a bodger, had made the frame.
People
Philip Clissett, a traditional chair bodger from the village of Bosbury, Herefordshire, sold some of his chairs to the Art Workers Guild in London in 1888. There, they influenced leading Arts and Crafts architects and designers. In 1890 he taught Gimson how to make ladder-back chairs. Gimson gave up making chairs himself in 1904, after which his designs were made by his assistant, Edward Gardiner.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Ash, turned on a pole-lathe, with splats of riven ash; replacement rush seat |
| Brief description | Ladder-back armchair, ash, with rush seat, designed by Ernest Gimson, Britain, after 1888 |
| Physical description | Ash ladder-back armchair with rush seat. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Designed and possibly made by Ernest W. Gimson (born in Leicester, 1864, died in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, 1919) in Pinbury or Sapperton, Gloucestershire Object sampling carried out by Jo Darrah, V&A Science; drawer/slide reference 7/81. |
| Summary | Object Type Ladder-back chairs like this were first made in the Middle Ages, but were most widespread between 1700 and 1900. These were simple, inexpensive chairs made and used in rural communities Materials & Making Individual regional makers often added characteristic details to the turned and shaped elements. For example, it was usual for the ash rear uprights of ladder-back chairs to be steam bent in a slight reclining curve. However, Ernest Gimson's chair has straight uprights. The rush used to make the seat was either harvested from British rivers during July, or imported from The Netherlands. It was an arduous and skilled job to weave rush seats by hand. They were often undertaken by out-workers after the chairmaker, known as a bodger, had made the frame. People Philip Clissett, a traditional chair bodger from the village of Bosbury, Herefordshire, sold some of his chairs to the Art Workers Guild in London in 1888. There, they influenced leading Arts and Crafts architects and designers. In 1890 he taught Gimson how to make ladder-back chairs. Gimson gave up making chairs himself in 1904, after which his designs were made by his assistant, Edward Gardiner. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.232-1960 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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