American Windsor chairs first made around 1730

#Middlebury #Antiques

The Windsor chair was introduced in England in the late 17th century, and it was about 50 years later, around 1730, that the first American Windsor chairs were made in Philadelphia. The American makers created different styles of Windsors. They all had a shaped wooden seat made of a single thick piece of wood, spindles used for a back and perhaps arms. There were splayed legs that were inserted into holes in the seat.

An old note was found taped to the bottom of this birdcage rocker when it was put up for sale at a James Julia auction. It traced the chair back to a Massachusetts woman who was hung as a witch.

The Windsor gradually changed into a captain’s chair with no spindles and a low back. Windsors were made of several types of wood chosen for properties like strength for the legs, pliability for the top of the back, and easy carveability for the seat. Then they were painted a single dark color. If there is a hole in the seat, the chair probably was converted to a potty chair. Rocking chairs can be early chairs with added rockers or 18th century chairs made with original rockers. You can tell by the way they are attached.

There are tips to telling the age and origin of an authentic chair. An English chair will have a splat in the back and may use cabriole legs. It has a lower back than an American chair. Older American chair seats are about 18 inches from the floor; later ones are lower, about 16 to 17 inches. The number of spindles in the back is a good gauge of age: The more there are, the older the chair. Nine spindles is a very old chair. The chairs are named for the shape of the back. The chair in the photo is a birdcage Windsor with rockers that may have been added. It was made in the early 19th century in Massachusetts. The auction estimate at a James Julia sale was $500 to $700.

Q: I have an antique hand mirror made by the Unger Brothers. It is set in silver. The back is decorated with raised cupids in a water scene, but there are engraved initials of a previous owner that have been added. Do the initials lower the value?

A: Your American dresser mirror from the early 1900s is worth more than $100. Added initials on silver do not seem to change the value. It might be fun to explain that the mirror belonged to a distant relative.

Current Prices
R.S. Prussia, cake plate, violets, white center, two-tone pink border, gold highlights, 10 1/2 inches, $60.
Parker fountain pen, marbleized white resin, 18-karat gold nib, 5 1/2 inches, $240.
Animal trophy, elk, shoulder mount, 6-point antlers, c. 1950, 58 x 56 inches, $485.
Quilt, appliqued, flowers, urns, bud and vine border, red, yellow, green, 1850s, 92 x 100 inches, $770.

TIP: Your collectibles will live best at the temperature and humidity that is comfortable for you – not too hot, cold, wet or dry.

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

© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.