Original rocking chair upholstery?

Well, I just picked up this really nice, original finish Charles Limbert Arts and Craft style rocking chair: any thoughts on the seat??? Personally I think the orange upholstery is a replacement, since the chair is circa 1910-16, which is based on the particular version of the company logo. However, the more I look it over, the more it looks like mohair, which was commonly used in that time period. Was orange mohair available in the 1910’s?

 

Velvet ??

 

You really need to post your pictures as Full Image.

 

Sorry, let’s see if this works.

 

Yikes!!! Too many pictures!

 

That color screams 1960s to me.I doubt its original. Nice sturdy rocker there !

 

Orange velour screams 1970s. I believe yours would have originally had a leather seat.

Debora

 

Well, late 1960s/early 1970s to be fair.

Debora

 

Is anyone familiar with the Charles Limbert furniture company that used to operate in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo? They were a pretty big manufacturer of Arts and Crafts furniture back in the late 19th and early 20th century. Can anyone verify if this company ever produced fully upholstered rocking chairs?

 

I cannot find an example of one on the web: most have oak slats with drop in cushions, a few have a finished oak seat frame with the center open and covered with either leather or caning. I want to restore the seat to original look if possible.

 

I meant to say fully upholstered rocking chair seats!

 

Not sure this will help...looks like the bottom lines say GRAND RAPIDS and HOLLAND

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Yes it looks very Arts & Crafts in style, and Limbert made Arts & Crafts furniture. I agree that the seat was probably leather, maybe brown leather.

More on Charles Limbert and the company:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Limbert

https://www.acstickley.com/category/furniture/limbert-furniture-co/

https://www.artnet.com/artists/charles-limbert/

Holland, Michigan. A town with many people of Dutch origin, hence the Dutch name. Limbert could also be a Dutch name.

 

Very interesting sites you found: thank you!

 

Holland, Michigan.

Debora

 

That part looks rather Belgian.

 

How about this part?

Debora

 

That's better.
My brother and SIL visited Holland, Michigan last year, when they were in the area anyway. They also sent some photos of the windmill etc.

 

Not original. Probably leather or oil-cloth.

Quite familiar. Not sure what you mean by fully upholstered. Most had drop-in seats but there were a few with upholstered, wrapped seats like this (This one is original leather).



If you mean upholstered head to toe, the answer is no. I suspect yours is as above, with additional cushioning added. The other possibility is that it was converted from a drop-in seat.

 

Indeed, I meant to say upholstered seat. I’ll know more once I disassemble the seat. Concerning trying to date the piece, based on the version of logo burned on the arm bottom I’m guessing no later than 1919. I’m going by the only information I could find on the web, which shows four different logos used by Limbert, mine being the second version that simply said “Limberts” for the header. Would you agree?