Bentwood Side Chair
This chair, patented by Henry I. Seymour on May 31, 1870, was modeled closely after a well-known chair designed around 1850 by the German-born designer Michael Thonet (model number 4) which is pictured on a Thonet advertising broadside dated 1866. Seymour added braces for greater stability and used straight turned, rather than bent and curved stretchers. Thonet's patent on the bentwood technique expired on December 10, 1869, prompting manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic to adopt and adapt his designs in order to capture a percentage of the lucrative market for bentwood furniture. Seymour seems to have been the first American manufacturer to do so. Documented pieces of American bentwood furniture, such as this chair, are rare. A nearly identical chair is in the collection of the New York State Museum in Albany, New York.
Artwork Details
- Title: Bentwood Side Chair
- Maker: Henry I. Seymour (active ca. 1851–85)
- Date: 1870–78
- Geography: Made in Troy, New York, United States
- Culture: American
- Medium: Hickory, ash
- Dimensions: 36 x 17 3/4 x 22 in. (91.4 x 45.1 x 55.9 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. I. Wistar Morris III, 1984
- Object Number: 1984.448.2
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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ca. 1848
Attributed to Workshop of Duncan Phyfe (American (born Scotland), near Lock Fannich, Ross-Shire, Scotland 1768/1770–1854 New York)
ca. 1837
1810–30
1840–50
1835–50
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