Hepplewhite shield-back chair
George Hepplewhite started his career as an apprentice to Gillows of Lancaster, and is the first recorded furniture designer to work for a large company of furniture manufacturers. His pattern book, The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide,
Signs of authenticity
1. Correct proportions laid down by Hepplewhite: height of seat frame 17 in, depth of [...]

Chippendale dining chair
Historical background
Designs for Thomas Chippendale’s chairs were freely available once his pattern book, The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director was published in 1754 and were
Signs of authenticity
1. Solid, heavy mahogany, smooth and silky to the touch.
2. Underframes of beech, plane or sycamore.
3. Crest rails fitting into tops of side rails where design scrolls [...]

Queen Anne wing chair
The Palladian architecture of the early eighteenth century suited the English landscape beautifully, but the high ceilings and spaciousness of the interiors were more suited to warmer climates. Porters in draughty halls sat out their on-duty hours in deep, hooded chairs which almost entirely enclosed them. In drawing rooms, their masters and [...]

Queen Anne spoon-back chair
Historical background
The transitional shape of chairs at the end of the seventeenth century included the curved S-scrolling legs with pronounced `knees’ and a carved central splat. These two key features were swiftly followed. by the
Signs of authenticity
1. Back made up of five parts: two side supports (or ’stiles’: continuation of back legs); [...]

Carolean cane-back chair
Historical background
The art of twist turning and swash turning came to England from Spain and the Spanish Netherlands at the time of Charles II and revolutionized the shape of chairs, tables, stands and stools. Oak, which had previously been the dominating wood for furniture, was abandoned in favour of
Signs of authenticity
1. Walnut is [...]

Panel-back Chair
variations which are quite distinct and recognizable, for the feudal lords were still the equivalent of petty kings in their own territories.
Earlier versions have completely boxed-in seats, a design which lasted until the end of the sixteenth century and overlapped the more sophisticated design with turned legs, built more on the
Historical background
These chairs were [...]

Joint stool
Signs of authenticity
1. Grain of wood coarser than saw-cut timber, showing slight figure and rippling.
2. Thick timber for seats, curving slightly on the grain from shrinkage and age.
3. Stretchers, legs and feet worn with constant use.
4. Dowelling from tops of legs standing slightly proud of seat due to shrinkage and movement of timber.
5. Pegs [...]

Late 1700`s Chair
The variety of chairs burgeoned in the mid to late 18th century, with French styles remaining popular. Although elements of the Rococo style lingered, chairs began to look more Neoclassical and became squarer and straighter. cabriole legs were rejected in favour of turned, tapered supports, often fluted or decorated with reeding, and oval [...]

Hall Chairs
Small, formal and more decorative than functional hall chairs were first named by Robert Manwaring, a furniture designer, in The Chair-Makers Real Friend and Companion, published in 1865.
Thomas Sheraton noted in The Cabinet Dictionary that chairs such as those that are placed in halls are for the use of servants or strangers waiting [...]