GEORGE III PAINTED ARMCHAIRS - LIBRARY ARMCHAIR - GILTWOOD ARMCHAIR - DINING CHAIRS - HALL CHAIRS - GEORGE II UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR

A GEORGE III GILTWOOD ARMCHAIR, the moulded
frame with oval back with padded arms and downswept
supports, the moulded serpentine seatrail centred by an
anthemion clasp, raised on circular tapering fluted legs
with fluted oval feet, circa 1770.

A GEORGE III LIBRARY ARMCHAIR, the rectangular
stufied back with down-curved padded arm supports,
with a loose cushion, on square chamfered moulded legs
joined by H-stretchers, circa 1770.

A GEORGE III GILTWOOD ARMCHAIR in the French manner,
the stuffed cartouche-shaped back within a moulded
frame with out-curved padded arms on scrolling supports, the stuffed seat
with a carved apron on cabriole legs, circa 1775.

A GEORGE III WHITE-PAINTED ARMCHAIR in the French taste,
the padded cartouche-shaped back within a moulded frame
with outcurved padded arms on scrolling moulded supports, the
stuffed serpentine seat on cabriole legs, circa 1770.

A SET OF six GEORGE III MAHOGANY DINING CHAIRS,
including an Armchair, the arched toprails with pierced
splats carved with rosettes and husks around a patera, the
armchair with out-curved moulded arm supports, with
stuffed seats, curved seat fronts, and turned fluted front
legs, circa 1780.

A SET OF TWELVE MAHOGANY DINING CHAIRS, the
rectangular backs with three stick splats, with stuffed
seats and square tapering legs with block feet and
H stretchers.

A GEORGE III WHITE-PAINTED SIDE CHAIR in the
French style, the oval padded back with a moulded
edge, the wedge-shaped stuffed seat on elegant cabriole
legs, circa 1770.

A SET OF THREE REGENCY BRASS-INLAID SIDE CHAIRS
in simulated rosewood, the rope-twist toprail above
two reeded crossbars joined by a panel inlaid with a
rosette and fleur de lys, the stuffed drop-in seats on
sabre legs, circa 1810.

A SET OF FIVE LATE GEORGE III MAHOGANY DINING
CHAIRS including an Armchair, with curved
panelled toprails, three fluted crossbars, the armchair
with downcurved moulded arms on baluster supports,
with stuffed seats and ring-turned baluster legs, circa 1815.

A SET OF six GOOD REGENCY MAHOGANY HALL
CHAIRS, each shaped back with simple incised decoration
and a central roundel painted with an armoriai crest, the
solid seats with canted corners and canted sabre front
legs, circa 1805, with squab cushions.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY ARMCHAIR, the serpentine
toprail and pierced vase-shaped splat with outcurved
arms, drop-in seat on square legs joined by stretchers,
circa 1765, arms later.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY ARMCHAIR of bergere
form, the arched stuffed back with a moulded frame and
with stuffed bow-fronted seat and reeded tapering legs,
circa 1780.

A SET OF six GEORGE III MAHOGANY CHAIRS, the
rectangular backs with three fluted splats, the solid seats
with squab cushions, on square tapering legs joined by
stretchers, circa 1800.

A LATE GEORGE II UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR, the
high padded back with scrolling arms and the stuffed
seat on square moulded legs joined by turned stretchers,
circa 1750.

A PAIR OF GEORGE II MAHOGANY CHAIRS with
gadrooned serpentine toprails, interlaced pierced splats,
the drop-in seats on carved cabriole legs ending in pad
tetl, circa 1760.)

A PAIR OF GEORGE III MAHOGANY SIDE CHAIRS with
shaped toprails, pierced interlaced splat and the drop-in
seat on square chamfered legs joined by an H-stretcher,
circa 1765.

A PAIR OF GEORGE III MAHOGANY CHAIRS, with arched stufFed
rectangular backs with padded seat on square legs joined by an H-stretcher,
circa 1770.

A SET OF EIGHT GEORGE III PROVINCIAL MAHOGANY
DINING CHAIRS including a pair of Armchairs, with
serpentine toprails pierced vase splats, outcurved arms
and the serpentine-fronted drop-in seats on square
moulded legs, circa 1770, restored     1500-2000
154 A SET OF FOUR GEORGE III MAHOGANY CHAIRS, the
hooped backs with pierced waisted splats headed by
wheat-ears, the stufFed seats on square tapering legs with
H-stretchers, circa 1770.

A SET OF FOUR GEORGE III MAHOGANY DINING
CHAIRS, the shaped moulded backs with pierced,
carved and waisted splats decorated with swags and
paterae, the drop-in seats on square tapering legs,
circa 1780.

A PAIR OF REGENCY CHAIRS with curved panelled
toprails, crossbars, drop-in seats and reeded sabre legs,
circa 1815.

A REGENCY EBONISED ARMCHAIR, the ringed toprail decorated
with flowers above moulded crossbars joined by caning,
with down-curved scrolling arms on scroll supports, with squab

cushion and caned seat, on moulded turned and fluted sabre legs, circa 1810.

A PAIR OF EBONISED AND PARCEL-GILT ARMCHAIRS,
similarly decorated to the previous lot, with square
tapering legs joined by stretchers, circa 1800, originally
unpainted.

A SET OF SIX REGENCY EBONISED DINING CHAIRS,
the turned toprails painted with bunches of flowers
above four crossbars held by gilt balls, with squab
cushions’and caned seats, on ringed splayed tapering
front legs joined by a double stretcher set with a ball,
circa 1810, decoration restored.

A GEORGE II MAHOGANY CORNER ARMCHAIR of
unusual form, with a tall narrow arched upholstered
back, with semi-circular flat crossbars below, the arms
with turned supports and with saddle-shaped seat and
cabriole leg and three further turned legs joined by
turned stretchers, circa 1735.

A GEORGE II WALNUT CORNER ARMCHAIR, with
pierced splats, stuffed drop-in seat and chamfered legs,
joined by stretchers, mid-18th Century    150-250
27 A GEORGE II BOOKCASE with moulded dentil
cornice above a pair of glazed doors with lancet mullions,
containing shelves, the base with two short drawers and
brass handles, 7ft. 5in. high by 5ft. Hin. wide (226cm. by
180.5cm.) circa 1760.

A PAIR OF GEORGE III PAINTED ARMCHAIRS,
the moulded frames with padded shield backs,
padded arms and downswept supports, and the
bow-fronted fluted seatrails on circular

tapering fluted legs, circa 1775, now painted
white and gilt, partly re-railed.

A SET OF SIX LATE GEORGE III CANED MAHOGANY
CHAIRS including a pair of Armchairs, with shallow
curved and caned toprails and matching crossbars, the
seats with rounded corners and circular reeded tapering
legs, the arms with pillar supports, circa 1800, one toprail
and one back broken.

Sheraton Single Chair in Mahogany with Straight Legs - A Regency Arm and Single Chair - Regency Mahogany Sabre-Leg Chair

A simpler Sheraton design with tapering legs normally made in mahogany, c. 1800. The arm uprights are of straightforward turning without the spiral reeding which adds greatly to price. An elegant and simple style
which remained popular for many years.
A mahogany armchair of c.1800 date. An excellent example of a good quality chair, as evidenced in the reeding and lightness of design of the back. The turned legs are a little clumsier and have hints of later things to come.
A mahogany Sheraton style single chair, c.1800, with Gothic arching in the design of the back. The legs are tapered on the inside edge only and are reeded, as is the back. An elegant and simple chair.
Country Sheraton design armchair in mahogany with bowed solid seat, c.1810. A satisfying and simple country design of which many were made to meet the popular demand caused by the town versions.
A rather heavier Sheraton style mahogany country chair with drop-in seat, c.1810. The broad top rail of the back has been made slightly wider than the back uprights which detracts slightly from the elegance of the
style. Otherwise the construction and tapering legs are typical.
An elegant chair of the early Regency period, c.1820, with caned back and seat. The outward turn of the simulated bamboo legs is most effective and the balance is completed by the curved top rail. The seat rail and the top rail are inlaid with stringing in the approved classical manner. Many of these chairs were made of birch or beech and then ebonised or painted. They are almost inevitably very expensive.
A country Sheraton single chair in mahogany with straight legs and solid seat, c.1810. The square back with vertical rails owes much to the popularity of Sheraton styles, otherwise the design comes from a
straightforward eighteenth century construction.
Late eighteenth/early nineteenth century oak spindle-back chairs, sometimes called ‘Lancashire’ chairs. They are rush-seated and are sometimes made of elm.
A very simplified country chair of c.1800. The design owes something to Sheraton in the tapering front legs and squared style of the back. The two horizontal rails are very plain and more ornamented versions are to be found. The solid bowed seat is made of elm and the rest of the chair is fruitwood.
Another very elegant Regency chair, c.1825, with rope twist motif on the back and sabre legs. The caned seat again adds to the overall lightness of design.
A similar pair of Regency chairs with reeding continuous down back uprights, sides and sabre legs. The carved decoration is simple and elegant,1830
A Regency period library chair which converts into a set of steps, c.1830. These chairs usually attracted a high degree of craftsmanship and are normally in either mahogany or rosewood. The arms and sabre front legs exhibit typical Regency characteristics although there is a hint of William IV in the broad carved top back rail.
Rather a hybrid piece of furniture which was either little made originally or subject to demolition from heavy bibliophiles. Either way, now becoming rarer and more expensive.
A Regency arm and single chair, c.1825, similar to the previous example in rope twist design but with drop in seats instead of cane. The panel between the horizontal rails in the back is inlaid with brass.
A late Regency or William IV period chair made of mahogany, c.1835. In the heavy curl of the arms and the reeded front legs the approach of the Victorian era is foretold. The bold, wide, outward-pointing top rail is
typical of the 1830 - 40 decade. Look out for conversion front legs, i.e. the original turned and reeded ones are sometimes removed and replaced by sabre legs to increase value.
Balance of top rail  (heavy top rails detract).
A typical Regency mahogany sabre-leg chair of pleasing proportion and design, c.1830. Elegant and small, yet comfortable, this type of chair has become understandably very popular since the war of 1939 - 45. They
are also to be found in rosewood, an even heavier and more durable wood which increases their value.

CHAIRS  upholstered, Victorian uprights
As the wavy curves of the rococo died out, so a new, severer, heavier and altogether more stolid form appeared. Built rather too enduringly and associated with the graver, more portentous side of Victorian life, these chairs have not yet found great popularity and many more would have been broken up if they had not been quite so strongly built. Perhaps due for a revival.
This chair almost takes up where the last chairs of the previous section leave off. The back design is very similar but the arms and legs are altogether different. Note the heavy turning and the spindled gallery under the arms  very popular in the 1870s.
A successor to the spoon back but with classical additions, including pillars and a pedimented top. Note that the chair is missing its castors. 1880-1890
The classical and 18th century revival has arrived  note the use of the slightly Hepplewhite back, Adam-ish pillars and earlier 19th century legs but with a bit of incised grooving on the seat rail. A similar design occurs in C. & R. Light’s 1881 catalogue.
A heavy single chair, possibly intended for the dining room, with upholstered seat and back. The seat has an overstuffed appearance and it is clearly built for heavy use.
The style of ‘the Louis’ has intervened. A sub-French design of the turn of the century which is to be found in suites of furniture for about twenty years. In a sense, the rococo is back, but in a much less attractive form. 1895-1915
Another heavily-built chair with rexine upholstery using sub-classical design and carving. The broad, curved top rail with its base-relief carving of acanthus leaves, is approaching the Edwardian type. 1890-1900
CHAIRS  upholstered, ‘designers’ chairs, 1860-1910
The architects who were involved in the various design movements from 1860 onwards tended to produce chairs that were rather puritan in concept, perhaps as a reaction from the stuffed upholstery of Victorian comfort. A small selection is shown here  chairs by famous designers tend to be individually hunted and expensive.
An oak armchair of Gothic reformed design, with all the hallmarks of the movement in its motifs, its ‘revealed’ construction and decoration. The use of the leather upholstery with impressed sun or sunflower motifs is also very interesting and characteristic of the interest in Japanese design at the time. The chair is a version of a popular Victorian open-arm tub chair, much found in more conventional Victorian versions. 1860-1870
A leather-covered armchair which provides an interesting companion with the previous ‘Gothic’ chair with its impressed Godwinesque ’suns’. This is the traditional Victorian version, with baluster and bulbous turning to the legs and arm supports, made in an uncompromising mahogany and with a distinctly ‘club’ or institutional look about it.
A chair designed by E.W. Godwin (q.v.) for the William Watt catalogue on Art Furniture of 1877. A chair subsequently much copied, particularly the back, which was admired by the Arts and Crafts Movement (q.v.).
This mahogany chair with tulip-pattern upholstery is of a design derived from Godwin, particularly the back, which is similar to an AngloJapanese type in which the uprights continue vertically well clear of the back panel. Would now be loosely called ‘art nouveau’ particularly due to the tulip upholstery, but it is in fact much more of an Arts and Crafts Movement chair of carefully-considered design. Note the incised ring turning on the front legs and back uprights and the way in which the arm supports sweep right down through the seat rail to the stretchers between the front and back legs. 1885-1895
A stained beechwood chair, also of the Arts and Crafts Movement, with twist-turned arm supports. The use of vertical straight turned spindles is rather overdone but it is, again, a very carefully thought-out design.
A more flagrantly art nouveau chair, using the flat capped uprights associated with Voysey in conjunction with inlaid ‘whip-lash’ floral marquetry in the rather sinuous back rail.
There is a strange use of short curtain-like screens to the sides and back.
A simpler and more satisfying art nouveau chair, again with flat-capped uprights and inlaid marquetry, but this time in a more solid, almost ‘hall-porter’s’ or `saddleback’ derivation for totally enclosed comfort. C. 1900

CHAIRS  upholstered, occasional
The turn of the century saw an onslaught of a type of chair, neither for dining nor for long-term comfortable seating, which is aptly named ‘occasional’. They were made in a variety of styles and we show a selection on these pages which cover most of the normal types. Rather than dwell individually on the stylistic origins of each chair, we are sure that our well-informed readers will derive pleasure from identifying the chairs on these three pages for themselves. The principal characteristic of most of them is their spindly nature, a surety that, were they to be used more than occasionally, they would suffer from damage. 1900-1920
CHAIRS  upholstered, reproductions
Upholstered chairs clearly were produced to meet the demands of fashion like any other furniture. By the end of the 19th century most types of 18th century and earlier design were being produced. Some of these chairs were very well made and are now quite difficult to distinguish from the originals; others are not so successful.
A ‘French Hepplewhite’ chair of high quality made in a dark mahogany. Every edge appears to be carved with gadrooning and the legs and arm supports are carved with leaves. It is very close to an 18th century chair, probably an exact copy taken from a genuine original. One can see how this design, given a little more rococo eccentricity, can become the open-armed spoon back of mid-Victorian taste. 1880-1900
A painted armchair with caned seat and back, again in a ‘Hepplewhite’ design but with other 18th century connotations. Designed for drawing room use. 1910-1920
Not upholstered at all, but a good example of a ‘wainscot’ chair in oak emulating a mid-17th century design. The carving on the back, shaping of the arms and frieze under the seat proclaim its modernity  apart from colour and method of construction, of course.
A perennially popular armchair (look at any modern reproduction catalogue) in the square-legged `Chippendale’ style with curved arm supports and fully upholstered back. From a catalogue of 1910.
1900-present day
Depending on condition and material covering
An upholstered walnut arm chair in the style of the last quarter of the 17th century. Made in the 1920s and featured in Maurice Adams’ book on furniture. c. 1926
The bergere, or caned, armchair was a popular type from about 1900 well into the 1930s and has never really died. These oak and mahogany versions are derived from similar chairs of the late 18th and early 19th century except that the oak version has been `Jacobeanised’ by the use of bobbin turning. 1900-1930
Left, chair oak version settee oak version.
Right, chair mahogany version settee mahogany version.
CHAIRS  upholstered, arm and easy, 1890-1930
A mixed bag of chairs for leisure. It is not quite clear when the fully upholstered ‘lounge’ chair came about: probably from the 1870s onwards, when manufacturers’ catalogues start to show them.
An armchair with inlaid decoration of the type usually associated with `Edwardian Sheraton’ furniture. The circular design of the chair is fairly typical of the Victorian period, and the front legs with their collars and fluted treatment also follow the turns that later 19th century manufacturers appear to have found irresistible. 1880-1890
An armchair showing again the return to 18th century designs. In this case the legs show a Sheraton influence, particularly in the stringing and cross banding of the seat rail. 1890-1900
Six wing easy chairs from a catalogue of C.1910.
Depending on material and condition
Six more armchairs from the same catalogue of c.1900, showing two surprisingly `1920s’ looking chairs with wooden arms and supports (bottom row left and centre) and bottom right a rocking chair. Rocking chair
Easy chair and settee from Maurice Adams, 1926. Out of date for some years but now coming back.
Easy chair, depending on material and condition
Two more easy chairs from Maurice Adams, 1926. The right-hand one is of little interest but the left-hand caned ‘berg&re’ chair is of a type very popular in the 1930s.