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Corner Armchair

1800-1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The form of such corner chairs developed in the middle of the 18th century, when it was understood that the projecting central leg gave good support to someone leaning over a table or desk, while the set of the arms meant that the chair could be drawn closer to the table than could a traditional, straight-fronted chair. They were also popular with card players at a time when card games were a vital element of polite lige. Chairs of this form were made in various European states as well as Britain. The continuous top rail may have derived from low-back Windsor chairs, which were first seen in the early 18th century. By the middle of the century such Windsor chairs had become popular for use in libraries in fashionable houses. This particular chair was probably made in the 19th century, not as a fake or reproduction, but simply because such chairs were useful and comfortable. One arm is fitted with a brass plate to support and adjustable reading stand (now missing) and the extension of the back may have been another 19th-century innovation, to make the chair more comfortable for reading.

When the chair was acquired by the Museum it was described as a 'dentist's chair'. A more plausible use would have been by a gentleman when his servant was shaving him. The term 'shaving chair' was probably an invention of the late 19th century, by dealers who were beginning to sell such objects. A good account of corner chairs, linking them to card playing in particular is given in G. Bernard Hughes, 'Arm-Chairs for Hooped Skirts', Country Life, 10 November 1960, pp. 1108-1109. Hughes notes a first published mention of the type in a sale catalogue of a furniture from 'a Great House in Arlington Street' [London] in January 1734. He also notes that such chairs were advertised by Catherine Naish in 1759 in The London Chronicle in June.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Drop-in Seat
  • Corner Armchair
  • Shaving Chair
  • Writing Chair
Materials and techniques
Mahogany, the seat covered in horsehair, on a frame of stained beech, with stuffing of straw. One arm is set with a brass plate for the attachment of a reading stand.
Brief description
Corner armchair (also possibly known as a writing chair or shaving chair) of mahogany, with drop-in seat, raised on cabriole legs, the continuous top rail supported on three turned, column supports and two urn-shaped splats, shaped but not pierced. An additional narrow back (looking almost as if from a child's chair) is set above the continuous top rail.
Physical description
Corner armchair (a form also known as a writing chair and, later, as a shaving chair) of mahogany, with drop-in seat, raised on cabriole legs, the continuous top rail supported on three turned, column supports and two urn-shaped splats, shaped but not pierced. An additional narrow back (looking almost as if from a child's chair) is set above the continuous top rail.

Design
Three of the four cabriole legs are raised on round pad feet, with no further carving on the feet, knees or spandrel brackets, which are uncarved but are serpentine on their lower edges. The back leg is of square section, with a shallow cabriole, above a pad foot, and is raked backwards. The serpentine front seat rail, which are cross-veneered on the front faces, show a shallow cross-grained moulding above, which frames the drop-in seat. Above the seat rail the three front legs continue as turned, tapering columns, ending in reverse peg shapes rather than capitals, these supporting the continuous top rail, made in three parts with a raised central section. The arms are rounded and out-scrolling. The end of the left (PR) arm is pierced through with central, circular hole, approximately 2 cm in diameter. The end of the right (PL) arms is pierced with a narrower hole (approximately 1.25 cm), which is fitted on the top surface with a square brass plate, presumably designed to hold an adjustable reading stand (now missing). The two back sections of the chair are fitted with plain, vase-shaped splats, chanfered on their back edges. These sit somewhat awkwardly with the curved top rail. They are not jointed into this but are supported behind along their top edges with large, quarter-round sections of wood, pinned and glued up into the underside of the top rail, which is in two sections, with a central joint, over which runs the upper, back-curving section, which is a separate piece of wood. A small chairback section is joined to the top of the centre of the top rail, to provide a head rest. The uprights of this may not be tenoned into the top rail of the chair, but are fixed with large, countersunk screws which run through from the underside of the top rail. These appear to be machine-made screws but because of the deep counter-sinking, it is not possible to see this clearly. The chair-back section takes the form of a standard early-18th century chair, with rounded top corners and a central vase splat, but is child sized. This section is about the size of a child's chair of the date and it appears to have been added to the chair at a later date. The drop-in seat is set on a wide softwood frame, lap-jointed and upholstered with 19th-century black-and-white chevron webbing. The top cover is in black horsehair, woven with a small medallion pattern.

Construction
The rails are jointed to the legs/uprights with mortise and tenon joints, except at the front, where the seat rails are each cut with an angled recess that wraps round the square tenon cut on the top of the upright, but it is unclear whether there are tenons or pegs reinforcing this joint. The back frames are cut in two section, the lower projecting into the space of the seat frame to provide a ledge to support the seat, the upper forming the show of the splat back, which would normally be applied to the top of the rail. The front rails are cut with a deep recess to support the seat frame. The right (PL) side leg shows a spandrel bracket on the back cut in one piece with the leg; on the other side this is a separate piece.
The frame of the drop-in seat is of dark-stained beech, jointed with mortise and tenon joints. The base cloth of the upholstery is in jute, the webbing 2" wide, woven in black and white (both base cloth and webbing now much discolouration). The stuffing was discovered in 1997 to be of straw.

Condition
The raised section of the top rail has fractured and been mended where the upper section of the back is attached. Tje front right (PL) arm support is fractured just below the arm and has been re-glued. This presumably reflects the extra stress on this arm from the reading stand (now missing).
The framing to the drop-in seat shows old worming.
The seat cover is much degraded, with damage and discolouration evident on the cotton warps. At the front, a small section is missing, but has been replaced by plain-weave black cotton inserted under the top cover, which was removed and replaced in 1997. The tacks are still very bright and the calico which lies underneath is very pale in colour.
Dimensions
  • Height: 118cm
  • At arms width: 78cm
  • Depth: 75cm
Dimensions taken from departmental catalogue
Style
Credit line
Bequeathed by Lt. Col. G. B. Croft-Lyons FSA
Object history
This chair was bequeathed to the Museum by Lt.Col. G.B. Croft-Lyon, FSA, a well-known collector (see Registered File 26/6627, on Nominal File). At the time of acquisition, it was tentatively identified as a dentist's chair, with the extension providing support for the patient's head. It was suggested that the extension might be an addition, but there is little evidence of this and a number of points of construction (see notes to dating) indicate that it was probably made in the 19th century, not necessarily as a reproduction or fake. This form of writing chair(although without the back extension) developed in the middle of the 18th century. The forward-placed central leg supported a writer as he or she leant forward over a table and the setting of the arms above the diagonal legs, allowed the chair to be drawn close to a table. The design of the continuous top rail was probably derived from low-back Windsor chairs, which were first made in the early 18th century. By the middle of the century there was a fashion for using such Windsor chairs in libraries, so it is easy to see why the form may have been adapted for writing as well as reading. The practicality of the form is the reason why such chairs were made over a very long period. This one, which shows a brass plate on one arm, probably for and adjustable reading stand, is more likely to have been made in the 19th century, although Col. Croft-Lyon must have bought it as an 18th-century piece. He was interested in quirky pieces of furniture, and his bequest to the Museum included several ingenious pieces.

A good account of such chairs, linking them to card playing in particular is given in G. Bernard Hughes, 'Arm-Chairs for Hooped Skirts', Country Life, 10 November 1960, pp. 1108-1109. Hughes notes a first published mention of the type in a sale catalogue of a furniture from 'a Great House in Arlington Street' [London] in January 1734. He also notes that such chairs were advertised by Catherine Naish in 1759 in The London Chronicle in June. On p. 1109 he describes such chairs with an upper section to the back as 'shaving chairs'. This is probably a term created by collectors in the late 19th or early 20th centuries but may be a better description of the use of such chairs than a 'dentist's chair'.
Historical context
For writing (see 'History')
Summary
The form of such corner chairs developed in the middle of the 18th century, when it was understood that the projecting central leg gave good support to someone leaning over a table or desk, while the set of the arms meant that the chair could be drawn closer to the table than could a traditional, straight-fronted chair. They were also popular with card players at a time when card games were a vital element of polite lige. Chairs of this form were made in various European states as well as Britain. The continuous top rail may have derived from low-back Windsor chairs, which were first seen in the early 18th century. By the middle of the century such Windsor chairs had become popular for use in libraries in fashionable houses. This particular chair was probably made in the 19th century, not as a fake or reproduction, but simply because such chairs were useful and comfortable. One arm is fitted with a brass plate to support and adjustable reading stand (now missing) and the extension of the back may have been another 19th-century innovation, to make the chair more comfortable for reading.

When the chair was acquired by the Museum it was described as a 'dentist's chair'. A more plausible use would have been by a gentleman when his servant was shaving him. The term 'shaving chair' was probably an invention of the late 19th century, by dealers who were beginning to sell such objects. A good account of corner chairs, linking them to card playing in particular is given in G. Bernard Hughes, 'Arm-Chairs for Hooped Skirts', Country Life, 10 November 1960, pp. 1108-1109. Hughes notes a first published mention of the type in a sale catalogue of a furniture from 'a Great House in Arlington Street' [London] in January 1734. He also notes that such chairs were advertised by Catherine Naish in 1759 in The London Chronicle in June.
Collection
Accession number
W.79:1 to 2-1926

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Record createdJanuary 10, 2006
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