18th Century (UK) Brace Back Windsor Chair

Stunningly well preserved, rare18th c.Windsor Brace Back Chair, eight-spindle, saddle seat, heavy splayed legs with vase and ring turnings, turned “H” stretcher. 17 1/2″ seat h, 36.75″ overall h.

Brief History:

The Windsor chair originated in England during the early eighteenth century. Unlike other chairs of contemporary date, which have open seat frames to receive upholstery or a woven bottom, the Windsor has a solid plank seat. As the principal unit of construction, the Windsor plank fastens the turned and shaved members of the chair back and base, although the two structures are independent of one another.

The name Windsor was soon associated with the new style. Rustic seating of related form was used on the grounds of Windsor Castle during the early eighteenth century, and the beechwood hills surrounding the town of Windsor provided timber used by the London chair makers for their nascent Windsor trade.

The first English Windsors were used principally outdoors on lawns and terraces of suburban homes and on the grounds of country estates. The popular finish was green paint made from white lead, oil, and the pigment verdigris. The blue-green color, similar to the oxidation on domes and statuary, served to camouflage the furniture in the landscape. When the English Windsor was introduced to the Colonies in the mid-1720s, green was the predominant paint color for these chairs. In America, the Windsor was principally an indoor chair, having already begun being used as such in England.

The first American Windsors were produced in Philadelphia around the mid-1740s; however, little remains from this period. Most early examples date to the 1750s and 1760s when both high-back and low-back chairs were in the market. Even so, the American product is fairly easy to recognize: slimmer bent parts; a thicker seat plank with front legs socketed farther from the edge; more intricate turnings and absence of the central decorative splat.

*Sourced as set/companion to writing desk here