Mahogany ladderback armchair with upholstered seat.

FPF128

Mahogany ladderback armchair with upholstered seat.

1770-1780 back and arms, remainder c.1930.

A mahogany ladderback armchair with 18th century back and arms, the rest made in the 1930s.

This mahogany armchair was made up by Parkers in c.1930 using the upper part of a good quality 18th century chair. The moulded, tapered back posts with wave-shaped and pierced crest and rails and the shapely arms resting on curved supports are from a 1770s chair. The concave and tapering upholstered seat, chamfered legs and H-stretchers were made in the 1930s to suit. The rear legs are strengthened by an additional stretcher, and are shortened and fitted with castors, for reasons unknown.

A simple form of ladderback was used on vernacular chairs from the 17th century and was adapted for fashionable chairs in the 18th century, as here, where the rails are skilfully shaped, pierced and carved. This is one of the few instances where a vernacular form was copied into fashionable furniture, rather than the other way round.

The back and arms are 18th century; the rest of the chair is c.1930.
There are tack holes on the back posts, indicating that the back had been upholstered at some time.

Mahogany.
Upholstery.
Steel and brass castors.

H. 91
W. 66
D. 63

Painted under seat rail: ‘128/6263’.
Plastic label inside seat rail: ‘OM 6263’.
Associated number: 5189.
The Parker archive records two occasions when reproductions of this chair were made to commission, OM 1443, cost £1.10.0 and OM 1478 made up July 1930, cost £5.

Made by Frederick Parker & Sons c.1930.