American Windsor Furniture

Definitive reference on classic American collectible. 744 pages, 1,000 illustrations, checklist of 2,400 chairmakers, more.

Combining comfort, simplicity and craftsmanship, Windsor chairs have long been prized by collectors. Introduced from England in the early 1700s, the Windsor style took hold in America first as seating for the well-to-do and later as the favourite chair of the general population. Included in the Windsor family are stools, tables, settees, high chairs, cradles and candle stands, but the greatest variety is found in the chairs, which range from comb-back to bow-back to step-down versions. Their makers took advantage of the natural properties of different woods for particular components of the chairs, employing hickory, red oak, or ash for bent parts, maple for turnings and pine for seats.

The indispensable companion volume to Hudson Hills Press' phenomenal American Windsor Chairs.

The definitive work on the production of Windsor furniture, from one of America's premier authorities.

100 different types of Windsor chairs and other furniture. Full-page photos of side chairs, armchairs, comb-backs, writing-arm chairs, babies' high-backs and low chairs, settees, love seats, stools, and tables. Informative text.

A Windsor chair is a chair built with a solid wooden seat into which the chair-back and legs are round-tenoned, or pushed into drilled holes. This is in contrast to standard chairs, where the back legs and the uprights of the back are continuous. Contained within this book is a fascinating account of the development of the American Windsor chair. Containing a wealth of interesting information on its history, evolution, construction, and popularity, along with a veritable catalogue of authentic photographs and detailed illustrations, this text constitutes a definite treatise on the subject and is not to be missed by those with an interest in Windsor furniture. Many antique texts such as this are increasingly costly and hard to come by, and it is with this in mind that we are proud to republish 'The Development of the American Windsor Chairs' here complete with a new introduction on the history of furniture.

Windsor chairs are a beautiful and traditional feature in any home. Celebrate their history, and learn their heritage. Both novice and experienced woodworkers can learn how to make a Windsor chair that is both functional and beautifully shaped.

This work provides an insight into the history of Welsh stick chairs and includes instructions on how to make a chair, covering methods of bending the wood for chair construction. Illustrations show each stage in the building process.

"..."The Stick Chair Book" is divided into three sections. The first section, "Thinking About Chairs," introduces you to the world of common stick chairs, plus the tools and wood to build them. The second section - "Chairmaking Techniques" - covers every process involved in making a chair, from cutting stout legs, to making curved arms with straight wood, to carving the seat. Plus, you'll get a taste for the wide variety of shapes you can use. The chapter on seats shows you how to lay out 14 different seat shapes. The chapter on legs has 16 common forms that can be made with only a couple handplanes. Add those to the 11 different arm shapes, six arm-joinery options, 14 shapes for hands, seven stretcher shapes and 11 combs, and you could make stick chairs your entire life without ever making the same one twice. The final section offers detailed plans for five stick chairs, from a basic Irish armchair to a dramatic Scottish comb-back. These five chair designs are a great jumping-off point for making stick chairs of your own design. Additional chapters in the book cover chair comfort, finishing and sharpening the tools. From the author: "When I first wrote 'The Stick Chair Book' in 2021, I was also fighting cancer. So I hammered out the text with urgency and the desire to record every fragment of information I knew about chairmaking. "To be fair, that's usually how I go about writing all my books. But then I typically take a couple months off, put the manuscript aside, then revisit it with fresh eyes and a sharpened pen. My final revisions remove about 10-20 percent of the original material. The stuff I cut is usually chapters that don't match the tone of the rest of the text. Or I snip sections that aren't as relevant as when I first wrote them. I also smooth out the writing and add bits of information I'd forgotten during the first brain-to-fingers dump. "And that's exactly what I've done for this revised edition. As a result, the text is 10.1 percent shorter than the first edition. It's more to the point. And it's where the manuscript would have ended up under normal conditions..."--Publisher's website.