Physical description
The body of the chair is made of turned and painted maple, with a back rail of six individual turned rails, the back uprights curving benath and supporting a strapwork steel seat (each metal strip being covered with braided wool). Stamped.
Place of Origin
New York, USA (made)
Date
ca. 1876 (made)
Artist/maker
Hunzinger, George, born 1835 - died 1898 (designer and maker)
Materials and Techniques
Turned and painted maple, with steel seat and back
Marks and inscriptions
HUNZINGER / PAT MARCH 30 / 1869 / N.Y. / PAT APRIL 18 1876
Dimensions
Height: 84.3 cm, Width: 50.8 cm, Depth: 55 cm
Object history note
Two patents are represented in this chair: the first was for the diagonal side braces designed to strengthen the connection of seat and back, which Hunzinger described as the part of any chair most liable to loosening, "particularly the case with the more expensive character of chairs, where there are not any side rails between the back and front legs" (United States patent 88, 297, 309 March 1869). The second patent covered the use of wire or flat metal strips in place of cane for seats and backs "to insure great strength and beauty" (United States Patent 176, 314, 18 April 1876). The strips were "covered with threads wound or braided . . . and might be painted or varnished" so that the sitter did not come into direct contact with the metal. The patent covered the manner in which the strips were laid into grooves cut into the seat frame and the technique for securing the strips by means of pins set into the underside of the frame. This ingenious use of metal resulted in a remarkably strong structure.
Historical context note
In 19th-century America patents were used not only to protect original designs or the technical features of products but, increasingly, as a selling device to signal novelty and innovation. In 1867, George Hunzinger advertised himself as 'Manufacturer of Patent Folding, Reclining and Extension CHAIRS', and virtually all his extant pieces are marked with details of his patents. In an expanding and increasingly competitive marketplace, patents represented a way for Hunzinger and others to distinguish their goods and to establish an identity.
Hunziger was born in Tuttlingen, Württemberg, Germany, into a family of cabinet-makers with whom he served his apprenticeship. He worked as a journeyman in Geneva, Switzerland, for a time and came to New York in the 1850s during the peak of German emigration to America. Hunzinger built a large and successful business which prospered until the 1920s.
Descriptive line
Armchair (chair), turned and painted maple with steel, New York. Designed and made by George Hunzinger, ca. 1876.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Wilk, C. (ed). Western Furniture, 1350 to the Present Day. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Limited, 1996, pp. 170-171, ill. ISBN: 1856774435
Labels and date
ARMCHAIR
W.14-1985
'American and European Art and Design 1800-1900'
Hunzinger, a German immigrant, was active as a cabinet-maker and chair manufacturer in New York from about 1860 until his death, becoming an American citizen in 1865. He took out numerous patents. This chair, one of his most successful patterns, bears his 1869 and 1876 patent marks. [1987-2006]
Europe and America 1800-1900, room 101
CHAIR
1876-80
USA, New York; designed by George Hunzinger
Turned and painted maple, with steel seat and back
Museum no. W.14-1985
Patents were often used not only to protect designs and technical innovations, but also as a marketing device to signal novelty. This chair features two ideas patented by Hunzinger: diagonal bracing struts and wool-covered metal strips to form the seat. The strips, echoing the red paint on the wood, were a durable and colourful alternative to cane. [2006]
Chair
About 1876
George Hunzinger (1835–98)
USA (New York)
Maple, turned and painted
Seat: steel strips covered with braided wool
Museum no. W.14-1985
In the 19th century turning was used for new furniture designs as well as traditional forms. Hunzinger’s strong, lightweight chair has deep grooves in the seat rails to locate his patent metal seating strips. Matching grooves on the back and diagonal supports were painted bright red to contrast with the light maple wood.
[01/12/2012]
Production Note
Attribution note: Nearly all of the wood parts are turned which Hunziger preferred "as being ornamental, but not expensive" (US Patent 88, 297, 30 March 1869) The grooves in the turned surfaces were painted bright red to contrast with the light maple and to match the seat (which is ornamented with grey-green flecks); together, paint and textile give the chair a polychromatic effect.
Materials
Wool; Steel; Maple
Techniques
Painting; Turning; Joining
Categories
Furniture
Collection code
FWK
