Windsor Armchair

The Windsor chair, among the most popular forms of seating furniture in America in the late 18th century, appeared in both affluent and middleclass homes. Though the origins of the term are uncertain, the name “Windsor chair” first appeared in inventories in England in the 1720s and in America around 1740. Simply constructed and highly practical, this type of chair has a flat plank seat, usually made of pine; turned legs, stretchers, and back posts or “stiles”; and long spindles typically made of oak, hickory, or ash. The various members are fitted into holes bored into the plank to form the back and support the seat. This “fan-back” armchair, named for its high, outward-flaring back support, is unusual because of the elaborate turnings in its back posts, both above and below the arms; the elegant carving of “ears” at either end of the serpentine crest rail; the knuckle handholds at the end of each arm; and the rectangular block where the arms join the back posts. These features are typically associated with chairs made in coastal New England, particularly Nantucket.