Object number
77/233
Description
The Windsor Comb-back was in vogue from c.1700-1800, and then again, in a heavier design, from c.1830-1900. This chair, and another the same [77/234], were bequeathed by Miss Ellis on the condition that they were not to be separated. She had purchased them from a gentleman some years earlier who had stipulated the same- that they should not be separated- and Miss Ellis followed this in her Will.
Physical description
1 chair: wood; good conditionThe Comb-back is so called because the horizontal 'crest' rail at the top of the chair, into which the sticks are socketed, was said to resemble the spine of a comb, with the sticks acting as its teeth!.
Archival history
MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'Chair- comb back // Miss S. L. M. Ellis, Cliff Road, Hornsea, Essex // Description: Polished wood. Legs splayed. Wide seat. Arms run right round backcarried on 18 supports. The crest is carried on 8 supports plus a plat central piece of wood ornatelt carved and pierced. // Associated information: Left to the museum by Miss Ellis on the understanding that the chair will not be seperated from it pair 77/234. The early Windsor chairs were made to the comb-back design in which the backstands and sticks are fixed into the se4at at the bottom and socketed into a rail or comb at the top...The shape of the back strongly resembled a hay rake or wide toothed comb, hence the nickname; it was in vogue from c.1700-1800 and then again, in a heavier design, from 1830-1900.
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External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_16808.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_16807.tif - High resolution image
