Parlor Chairs

I have gotten dates all over the board for these chairs.
One is a rocker the other is a matching stationary.

They are currently in the process of being restored. Taking the current upholstery off it is evident they have been recovered many, many times, which makes me think maybe it's a little older than my original 1940s guess.

I have received 1920s
1900s-1910, Victorian, and Gothic Revival.

I don't think they are decorative enough for Gothic Revival and doesn't seem "artsy" enough for Art Nouveau period.

What's yalls opinion?

 

The wide arms lead me to believe that they are 1910's-1920's, either transitional or a vernacular.............

 

Agree. Hotel furniture. At the Jersey shore.

 

Thanks for yalls replies!
Why do you think they are from the jersey shore?

 

Not necessarily from there -- just typical of.

 

I think I answered this over on the other site but will elaborate a bit. I would say circa 1915. This is just after the Edwardian period if equating to British historical periods. It is also right at the beginning of WWI. Not many people talk about Edwardian or war era furniture but some certainly do. Most would lump this into the end of the Victorian furniture era, though there are some characteristics about this that make that not quite correct as a descriptor for this piece. There was certainly some Victorian styled furniture made during this time period but your chairs really don't exhibit the kind of styling that would peg them as Victorian.

Let me digress a bit and mention that when given a "circa" date, it is an approximation. In my mind, this could have been made a bit earlier than that or a bit later. so that 1910-20 estimation is right on. I actually feel that the WWI era is a more accurate period. I don't really see this being made in 1910 but could certainly see it being made 1914-18 or a bit later. In 1910, I would expect these to be more of a Mission or arts and crafts period style and they do exhibit some of those characteristics with the scale, back configuration, and wide flat arms. The turned/profiled components remove it from this consideration as a style for these. They could certainly be considered as transitional from the mission style.

One thing that both WWI and WWII have done to the American public is to cause them to seek comfort in their surroundings. Both wars saw return to historical styles in furniture trends. During WWI, the furniture industry began using historical details from European furniture styles (During and after WWII, we saw a return of colonial forms). They were not accurate reproductions of the styles but elements from them were added to create new American forms. In the case of your chairs, we see some Elizabethan details added to what was essentially an American mission chair. Post-war and in to the depression period, we saw this trend taken to strange extremes. This created new forms that have become to be known as depression-era historical revival styles.

To summarize this rather long-winded explanation, I would term your chairs as being transitional. They are transitional between the mission style that came before and the depression-era styles that came after. I have heard some use WWI-era furniture for this transitional style but it is not a term that is widely used.

 

I love you long winded reply as it gives so much in sight into why I was struggling with a defining era!

Thank you much!

 

The short puff is that the chair is six of one and half a dozen of the other.

 

Short Puff ?
did u just make that up ???

 

Well, I LOVED "Short Puff" and LOVED VeryBrad's AWESOME explanation!!! Not long winded at all when very informative!!! Thanks Brad!!!