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Carpenters' Hall - Table of Contents  ...............  Windsor Chairs

Windsor chairs and settee - Carpenters' Hall
Philadelphia, PA
Carpenters' Hall - Official Website

On this page:

Group A - Windsor chairs

Group B - Windsor chairs and settee

Group A


"Windsor chairs used by delegates to the First Continental Congress are unique. They are believed to be the largest Windsor chair collection still with the original owners.  ... Herb Lapp, an expert on Windsor chairs and craftsman of fine reproductions, says the chairs' original color was green, a color widely used before the Revolution. Later some were painted red or mustard color. Still later, probably in the late 19th century, they were painted black ... 'Carpenters Co' was burned into the underside of each chair seat. " - Carl G. Karsch, A Treasure in Plain Sight (May 2011)



Sack-back Windsor chair.




Different angle - Sack-back Windsor chair.


Tall  comb-back Windsor Chair
Painted black ..... Volutes on ears ..... Knuckles on arms ..... Raked, turned tapered legs .....  Turned H stretcher

Made in Philadelphia, ca. 1774.

Peyton Randolph was elected president of Congress and occupied this tall, comb-back "speaker's chair."

"Because the tall chair seats are25 1/2 inches from the floor, they were used with a footstool or low bench." - Nancy Goyne Evans, Windsor-chair making in America: from craft shop to consumer, p. 427 (May 2011)



Different angle - Tall Comb-back Windsor Chair.

Shield-shaped seat with peaked front

Group B


Desk.  Detail below:


Desk: Acanthus leaf and volute  scroll buttress   ........  Column with volute capital



Behind the desk: Windsor settee, against the wall,  and decorated crest comb-back arm chairs.

Far left: Queen Ann side chair with cabriole legs and club feet.



Decorated crest comb-back arm chairs.

Spindle arm supports and five of six stretchers are turned bamboo shape .......   Saddle seats


Crest rail  decorated with scrolled branches



Different angle - Decorated crest comb-back arm chairs.

Spindle arm supports and five of six stretchers are turned bamboo shape.


Photos and their arrangement © 2011 Chuck LaChiusa
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