Número del objeto
55/789
Descripción
This baby high chair was probably made in the 1830s, and its simple design indicates it was for a farmhouse or cottage. It was used by three generations of and twelve children in the donor’s family throughout the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. The chair is made from a variety of wood, including beech, elm and ash, and there is a hole in the seat for attaching an enamel potty (now missing). There are holes in the arms of the chair, through which a rod probably passed to keep the child in place, and there is a piece of wood across the legs of the chair at the front which act as a foot rest.
Descripción física
1 high chair: wood [beech, elm and ash ?]; good condition
Historia del archivo
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'The furniture of farmhouses and cottages was simple and immune from the fashions and foreign trends which influence city furniture. This small baby chair, probably made during the decade 1830–1840, is an example of country workmanship and has nothing floridly Victorian in its construction. // Three generations and at least twelve children used the chair. According to family tradition the chair was used by Mr Albert’s great-grandmother, a farmer’s daughter from Bearsted, Kent, for her first child. Subsequently it was used by his grandmother between 1874 and 1897, by Mr Albert himself from 1909–1912, and by his half brother and sister after 1920. // The chair stands 31 inches high and the legs are 20 inches long. The width of the seat is 12.5 inches and the depth 11.5 inches. In the middle of the seat there is a circular hole 5.5 inches in diameter. The hole is covered by a circular piece of wood, but the rimmed white enamel pot which originally fitted round the rim of the hole is now missing. The arms of the chair are pierced by two smaller holes through which a rod probably passed to help keep the child in the chair. The bar for the child’s feet is cracked and has been reinforced by an extra piece of wood. The materials from which the chair is made are not easy to decide, but the legs are probably beech, the seat elm and the arms ash.'
Fecha
1830-01-01 - 1839-12-31
Periodo de producción
1830s
Nombre del objeto
Material
Documento digital
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_1201.tif - High resolution image
