This begins several pages on the preservation of a lovely
Old Wood Mason Monterey Club chair that has been in our client’s family.
It has been reupholstered once with elk hides, but the original cushions are intact.
As we uncover the frame, we found the history of the fabrics and covering intact.
Our chair shown 360-degrees, above.
When we start excavation
we also formally assess
the chair again as we are removing the upholstery, stuffings and buildup.
For instance, there was tacking outside the
upholstery margin, above;
we do not know why.
Webbing and springs
were missing from the seat deck, shown right.
Mitchell removed the outside back fabric, below, and
began the excavation with
the front of the back frame.
As we excavate the back frame, we find both original and newer additions,
and Mitchell can tell which is which. In the fifth image and below right you see a lumbar support, which was an upholsterer’s attempt to shape the lumbar inappropriately.
A bit of the original fabric was used as a barrier.
Later you will see they also modified the frame to tilt the lumbar.
(Mitchell will repair the modification and return it to the proper original intent.).
The chair is turned on its back.
The burlap and webbing are removed.
The seat is excavated, saving parts to assist with patterns.
Much of the original material is intact under the newer elk hide.
We will save and reuse or save as part of the history of the chair…
and sew the label back into place!
The frame is laid bare,
and final assessments are made.
In the second through seventh images above you can see that the lower back lumbar support was twisted and nailed in a manner that is not original.
This change was created by someone wanting to make the lumbar more
comfortable who did not know how to upholster correctly,
and will be returned to the original position and upholstered correctly.
The Old Wood finish is deteriorating. If the finish were in good condition and simply distressed, we would not have tried to preserve it with a topcoat, however, it was flaking and would continue to do so in a more exacerbated fashion now that it is going to be used again, so we will top coat the finish to seal and preserve it, next post.
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Do most people come to you after the fact of a very bad repair job? This one looks like a shambles.
Some do, and most don’t know that a chair has had a bad repair. I doubt most repair people who do a bad repair are aware that they do not do this or that properly.