Delaware Valley Maple Ladderback Armchair Five Arched Slats Circa 1750-1780
A rare Delaware Valley maple armchair, circa 1750–1780, with five arched slats, turned urn-form finials, outward-scrolled armrests, and turned legs joined by straight double stretchers. The original feet (probably turned or flattened ball form) are missing; the chair retains a replacement woven hemp-rope seat in place of the original rush. While a distinguished example, the slats are arched only at the top rather than top and bottom, and the front stretcher lacks the heavier turning found on the finest examples of the type.
Family history holds that the chair traveled from Pennsylvania to Iowa by prairie schooner at an early date and gradually made its way to Georgia, where it was found in use as a yard chair in Austell, near the home of Elizabeth Ann Wright Rose; Mabel Rose Levy recognized its quality and had her mother purchase it for her, later bringing it to Demopolis. Ernest Levy, finding the maple too difficult to restore, painted the chair vermilion and added the hemp seat; it was later painted a soft grey-green, though traces of the vermilion remain visible beneath. An old photograph in the family's Levy album shows the chair in a natural maple finish as originally acquired.
Origin: Delaware Valley
Date: circa 1750–1780
Dimensions: 46" H x 25 1/2" W x 20" D; Seat height: 13"
Condition: Very good, restored condition. Original feet missing; seat reworked. Previously painted; currently green with the original vermilion paint showing through in several places.
Provenance: Found in Austell, Georgia; acquired by Elizabeth Ann Wright Rose for Mabel Rose Levy; to Ernest Levy (restored); purchased by Edward Pattillo from William H. Britton, 2008.
Condition notes are provided as a courtesy. The absence of a condition statement does not imply the lot is free of defects. Please request a condition report or additional photos before bidding.
Dimensions
46 x 25.5 x 20 in
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
A rare Delaware Valley maple armchair, circa 1750–1780, with five arched slats, turned urn-form finials, outward-scrolled armrests, and turned legs joined by straight double stretchers. The original feet (probably turned or flattened ball form) are missing; the chair retains a replacement woven hemp-rope seat in place of the original rush. While a distinguished example, the slats are arched only at the top rather than top and bottom, and the front stretcher lacks the heavier turning found on the finest examples of the type.
Family history holds that the chair traveled from Pennsylvania to Iowa by prairie schooner at an early date and gradually made its way to Georgia, where it was found in use as a yard chair in Austell, near the home of Elizabeth Ann Wright Rose; Mabel Rose Levy recognized its quality and had her mother purchase it for her, later bringing it to Demopolis. Ernest Levy, finding the maple too difficult to restore, painted the chair vermilion and added the hemp seat; it was later painted a soft grey-green, though traces of the vermilion remain visible beneath. An old photograph in the family's Levy album shows the chair in a natural maple finish as originally acquired.
Origin: Delaware Valley
Date: circa 1750–1780
Dimensions: 46" H x 25 1/2" W x 20" D; Seat height: 13"
Condition: Very good, restored condition. Original feet missing; seat reworked. Previously painted; currently green with the original vermilion paint showing through in several places.
Provenance: Found in Austell, Georgia; acquired by Elizabeth Ann Wright Rose for Mabel Rose Levy; to Ernest Levy (restored); purchased by Edward Pattillo from William H. Britton, 2008.
Condition notes are provided as a courtesy. The absence of a condition statement does not imply the lot is free of defects. Please request a condition report or additional photos before bidding.
Dimensions
46 x 25.5 x 20 in
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
