The Windsor Chair

The first reference to a 'back chair' is in a 10th Century manuscript 
from the British Isles.  Development over time led to the Windsor 
chair as it is known today.  The Windsor chair appeared in 
the American Colonies during the early 1700's.

As Americans pursued their dreams westward, the Windsor 
chair crossed the continent with them, meeting up again 
with their British Cousins on the West Coast.

Along with the British occupation of Fort Astoria in 1813, 
came the first white woman in Oregon country - Jane Barnes.  
Can one imagine this woman from England in that wild, 
unsettled land without a proper chair?

Jane Barnes may not have been able to bring along all the 
comforts of home, but we think she most certainly would have 
had a chair-and that chair would have been a Windsor!

The Quintessential American Windsor
By John Vaught (2004)

The Windsor chair was first produced in the British Isles in the early 
1700’s. The Colonists brought the chairs to America where they evolved 
into the classic form of strength and style we see today.  In its nearly 
300 year history the American Windsor has always been in use in 
America. They have been constantly used in commercial buildings, 
court houses, schools, libraries, and restaurants. The traditional fire 
station "Captain’s chair" was a manufactured form of the Windsor’s 
"low back" style. They can be seen in our history as part of our 
country’s beginnings. In the Continental Congress they where used 
by our nations founders. Today they are coveted as antique objects.

In the early 20^th Century Wallace Nutting was the most notorious 
builder of Windsor chair reproductions. He built this traditional chair 
for its grace and charm, which is never ending. "Wallace Nutting 
Furniture," by Michael Ivankovich in the West Coast Peddler, 
July 2004 issue states, "The primary key to quality furniture lies 
within its construction and that is what differentiates Wallace 
Nutting furniture from all other early 20^th Century 
reproduction furniture. His was simply the best."

This quintessential chair folds in and out of our history and is now 
appearing as a piece of furniture of consequence. Even Martha Stewart 
has created her own Windsor chair. Martha set one of her "Martha Stewart 
Living" shows at The Windsor Institute in Hampton, New Hampshire. 
The Institute teaches 18^th Century Windsor chair making techniques. 
Martha’s filming crew followed a student through the foundational chair 
class to give her audience a chance to see what makes the Windsor chair 
the chair it is. The owner of the Institute is world renown Windsor chair 
maker, author, and craftsman, Michael Dunbar. Dunbar’s web page 
introduces him: "Mike Dunbar is the pioneer who started the Windsor 
revival by resurrecting handmade chairs, a craft that had been dead for 
150 years." Dunbar’s reputation is nation wide, "Fine Woodworking 
called him The Windsor Guru. Yankee magazine referred to him 
as The Dean of Windsor Chair makers. Woodworkers Journal  
dubbed him the Crown Prince of Windsor’s."

Martha Stewart makes her "sack back" Windsor from cast 
aluminum. The Martha Stewart Signature Collection for Bernhardt 
Furniture was inspired, also, by furnishings in Lily Pond, her 
shingle-style home on the eastern shore of Long Island. 
You can see her aluminum Windsor’s at: www.marthastewart.com.

We can see that American Windsor’s are here to stay, they fit in 
any home and are used in many settings. The 2004 Better Homes 
and Garden Books, "Beautiful Homes" and "Home Planning Ideas" 
show Windsor chairs being used as accents in eclectic design in 
today’s homes. Windsor chairs can be found in many furniture and 
department stores. Of course the most desired, arising from 
our history, are the traditionally, hand crafted chair.

The original Windsor chairs, from the 18^th Century, are still 
amongst us, many receiving daily use. Their value has been sky 
rocketing recently. A quote from the Maine Antique Digest of 
March 2003, from the article "The Appell Sale", by Lita 
Solis-Cohen states the selling price of original Windsor 
Chairs and the purchase price in1930’s and 40’s:

The white-painted sack-back, which sold for $51,000 cost 
$80.00 in 1940; the Philadelphia low-back Windsor armchair, 
also painted white, which sold for $42,000, cost $150.00 
in 1932; and the red-painted Philadelphia comb-back, 
which sold for $66,000, was $200.00 in 1933.

Wallace Nutting’s reproduced Windsor’s from the early1900’s 
are as much as $5,000 to 6,000 dollars and they are merely 80 years old!

There are a few Windsor Institute graduates on the West Coast 
handcrafting American Windsor chairs. Because of people like 
Michael Dunbar the antique collector, as well as the person who 
appreciates fine workmanship, has the option of owning a chair as 
finely made as an 18^th Century American Windsor. (These 
newly made chairs generally range between $500.00 to $1200.00, 
depending on the style and finish.) Being spared the cost of an 
antique and having the ability to use these chairs for everyday 
living gives all who appreciate the American Windsor’s charm and 
graceful lines the opportunity to wear these chairs into "antiquedom."

For more information on Windsor chair making call me at my 
Northwest Windsor Chairs studio in Klamath Falls, 541-273-6888 
or visit my web site at: www.northwestwindsorchairs.com. 
Join in the huge revival of our most loved and used American chair.

Sit in one of these chairs from American’s past and comfortably gaze 
into the future knowing the life of these chairs can be measured in generations.

Gracing Your Home

A chair is a 'civilized' thing, a giant step in history toward a comfortable home.

Windsor chairs have graced the homes of kings and commoners alike.  
In George Washington's historic home, Windsor chairs surround 
the dining table.  And many a neighbor has set for a spell, on a 
country front porch, in the comfort of a Windsor chair.  

Windsor chairs span the full spectrum of interior design, complementing 
traditional Americana, contemporary themes, and anything in between.

Using building principles dating back to the early Egyptians, 
these are chairs for the future with an age-old past.