Centripetal Side Chair

Designer Designed by Thomas E. Warren
Manufacturer Manufactured by American Chair Company American
ca. 1849
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774
This innovative chair swivels and tilts like a modern desk chair. A similar chair made by The American Chair Company was exhibited at the London Crystal Palace exhibit of 1851. A reviewer in "The Illustrated Exhibitor" described it as "the invention of Mr. Thomas E. Warren." Warren patented the centripetal spring in 1849. A nearly identical chair in the St. Louis Art Museum bears the label "Thomas E. Warren’s American Chair Co."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Centripetal Side Chair
  • Designer: Designed by Thomas E. Warren
  • Manufacturer: Manufactured by American Chair Company (active ca. 1849)
  • Date: ca. 1849
  • Geography: Made in Troy, New York, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Cast iron, wood
  • Dimensions: 31 1/8 x 17 3/4 in. (79.1 x 45.1 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Elinor Merrell, 1977
  • Object Number: 1977.255
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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