front
(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
Contact us for information about using this image.

label levels:

Turners used lathes to produce great numbers of this type of banister-back chair over a long period of time in Deerfield, Massachusetts and all over New England. The back of this chair has split banisters rather than the simpler narrow strips of wood, and the four banister turnings match the rear posts of the chair. In this example, as in others made in Deerfield, the rounded part of the banister is set against the sitter's back. Chair makers usually turned out numbers of parts before assembling the chairs. Because different woods were used for the various parts, the chairs were painted. Chairs were a common item in most New England households by the time this chair was made.

top of page