One of my favorite chairs, this often overlooked Windsors may have originated in Wales, Ireland and England, where wheelwrights creating chairs as they made wheel spokes, which were chairs using compression tension joints, with no hide glue holding the spokes in place, in the 15th or 16th century. There is a true Windsor, and then there is Windsor-style, and they are now made world-wide.
I love them for their structural integrity, their ruggedness, and the sheer volume of designs! Below are many Windsors, roughly starting with early Windsors and primitive Windsors, moving into modern Windsors.
Good information on possible history is found on Wikipedia,
though my reading suggests that this is a stub and needs correction.
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May be reposted if our url +copyright is used as reference.
Thanks to Wikipedia, 1stdibs (a great store to buy from!),
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and
the Victoria and Albert Museum for images as noted.
Did you know that in London, during the early 18th century, the Windsor chair was mounted upon a platform with wheels and a tongue like handle by which a “hack” could push and convey a person of dignity to various destinations? It is true. The chairs were painted red and green for outdoor use, though not all were painted, particularly the ones used strictly for more solemnity. If you find a very old one, pre 19th century, look beneath and around the joinery and on many you will see bits of paint. Ah, the mighty Windsor! She was a major step in technology, because the many parts were held together by its own inherent tensions and joint compressions. This means, Without Glue (saved another horse); pretty amazing, eh? All of this beauty and technology within a craft, so much unlike the House of Windsor, which had to be held together by mortar, subterfuge and the compression of hot air! All hail the mighty Windsor, a workhorse, s/he is a happy sitting friend!:)
I love the chairs too. There’s so much history in each and every one. Although, if I’m going to sit in something, I’d prefer my leather cushy seat. 😉
True Heroes from A to Z
What a fabulous blog. I am stopping by as we near the end of the #Challenge. GREAT information/photographs. Thank you for making it worthwhile to read. Well done!
Thank you! Some of the a-to-z organizers thot my posts too long. . . .