Made of maple with a heavy ball stretcher in front, rush seat, and a careful gradation of back slats, this side chair is a particularly well-preserved example of a popular type. Because of its well-liked style, relative comfort, and affordability, chairs such as these were made well into the early years of the 20th century and can be found in a number of collections, both public and private. Centers of production included the Delaware River Valley of Philadelphia and South Jersey, but this type of chair shows a strong European influence as well. By grafting the ball-and-ring stretcher of fashionable New England chairs onto a local tradition of Germanic slat-back chairs, Philadelphia chairmakers were able to more effectively compete in the marketplace.

Heather Bowling, Digital Collections Content Coordinator, 2016.

Drawn from

• Mabel Crispin Powers, "The Ware Chairs of South Jersey," Antiques, Volume 9 (May 1926): 307-311.

• Richard H. Randall, Jr., American Furniture in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1965, 178-79.