Former owner Peter McMartin

Side chair

1820–1840

Place madeUnited States, North America

ProbablyNew York

Maple, rush, paint

Overall: 34 1/2 × 17 1/8 × 18 in. (87.6 × 43.5 × 45.7 cm)

Gift of Miss Harriet M. Richards

1942.445

This type of chair was first mass-produced by Lambert Hitchcock (1795-1852), a chairmaker active near Barkhamsted (later Hitchcockville), Connecticut, in the mid-1820s. According to information from Esther Stevens Brazer (July 6, 1943), the chair was made and decorated in New York City around 1825. It was later used on Peter McMartin's farm near Caledonia, New York.

DescriptionMaple Hitchcock type side chair with painted decoration; back with arched, ring-turned crest rail with cylindrical center, squared stiles that taper toward top and terminate in scrolls, one shaped slat with opposing cornucopias, and one narrow, rectangular slat; trapezoidal rush seat with front corner blocks; ring-turned front legs with ball feet joined by ring-turned stretcher; two plain, round stretchers on either side and one plain, round stretcher in back.

ClassificationsFURNITURE