Chippendale side chair; three pierced slats that echo the pierced crest; beaded edge on Marlborough legs; "H" stretcher; stretcher across the back; cream damask upholstery; old webbing (probably original).
side chairs
cherry (wood)
cloth
Furniture
Chair, Dining
Ribbon back chairs were particularly popular in Essex County, Mass. and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the late eighteenth century. This is one of a pair (along with 1942.1237) that belonged to George Washington's personal secretary Tobias Lear (1760-1816) of Portsmouth. Both chairs retain their original under-upholstery and were clearly designed to have slipcovers rather than fitted upholstery.
"Old Houses to Be opened TOM" (pieces of old (1934) newspaper clipping; very little of clipping survives)
"Lear and two chairs made of wood cut in the Lear gardens, stood in the west parlor of the house at the time Washington (his) famous call" (printed)
Used At Lady Pepperell House (Kittery Point, Me.),
Unknown
United States
38 3/16 x 21 13/16 x 17 (HxWxD) (inches)
Gift of Virginia Hodge and Katherine Perry
1942.1236
Kittery Point (York county, Maine)
Maine (United States)
New England (United States) [general region]
Title Side Chair Accession Number 1942.1237
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