Campeche Chair sometimes called ‘plantation chair’

#Middlebury #Antiques

This Mexican chair with its leather sling seat is known as a Campeche chair. The style was inspired by a Roman magistrate’s chair, which had a similar shape and sloping seat that was considered very restful. More recent Campeche chairs were made in the 19th century in Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, the Balearic Isles and other nearby areas, and Indonesia. They are named for the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico, or perhaps the town of Campeche in the Yucatan where they were made.

This Campeche chair is tooled leather and oak. It was made in the late 19th century and measures 33 by 21 inches. It sold for $976.

From 1800 to 1825, many of these chairs, sometimes called “plantation chairs,” were shipped to New Orleans and used in Southern homes. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both had several Campeche chairs with tooled leather seats. By the 1830s, there were many references to the chairs in books and letters.

This chair has two wooden X-shaped sides held together with horizontal rails. The sling back and seat is made of tooled leather with an art nouveau design that suggests a date in the late 1800s. It sold at a Neal Auction last year for $976.

Q: My sister and I have a first edition of “Paper Dolls and How to Make Them, A Book for Little Girls” by Anson D.F. Randolph. It reads “Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1856.” The book has plates of dolls and doll clothes in color and black and white. We’d like to know how to go about selling it.

A: The first paper dolls were made in France in the 1700s. The first paper dolls made in the United States were printed in 1854 and were sold in boxed sets. Your book was the first American paper doll book. This book has been offered for sale online for over $700. You can try contacting a used bookstore to see what it will offer, or you can contact one of the online booksellers that deals in old books. If you don’t have access to a computer, your local library reference department may be able to help you. We checked retail prices at bookstores for you. One wanted $750, another $695. The condition is very important when setting a price.

Current Prices
Sewing box, burl walnut, brass mount top, escutcheon, lining, silk, padded, 1900s, 5-3/4 x 12 inches, $100.
Perfume bottle, glass, stopper, cranberry, turquoise, frosted, signed Jean Claude, 1993, 12 inches, $190.
Lighter, gold plate, enamel, black stripe, Jeroboam, S.T. Dupont, France, 3-3/4 x 3 inches, $760.
Rug, wool, diagonal stripe border, green, blue, pink, cream field, Edward Fields, 1981, 96 x 96 inches, $945.

TIP: Never wash a “flannel” (also called a “blanket” or “felt”), the small pieces of fabric packed in cigar or cigarette packs about 1914. Some valuable flannels picture baseball players. Washing the fabric will cause it to fade. Instead, put dry flannels and a clean, dry towel in the clothes dryer set on the cool setting. A few tumbles will remove dust.

For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.

© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.