BEAUTIFUL OLD ROCKING CHAIR

[can_slaw]

Early last fall, i inherited a rocking chair. It was in rough shape, but i just knew it was special, if only to me. I had admired it from a far for many years, as it sat in a corner at a dear old friend of mines house, too rickety to be sat in, but too beautiful for me not to admire. With the passing of his wife came the downsizing of his stuff. With it came the gifting of this old chair to me. A few tears and hugs later, it was in the basement of a friend who is a master craftsman. He immediately recognized the dried, thick black glue, and just knew it was old. He spent the next 5 months dissecting almost every single joint, replacing every dowel, and re gluing everything. He then took hardwood "toothpicks" and filled every single tack hole until everything under the cloth would be perfect, so every tack could go back where it needed to and not where the wood was solid enough to allow one. This was a labor of love for him, as he knew the sentimental value to me. After he was satisfied with the work, we took it to a local upholstery shop and antique dealer who specializes in this kind of work. He still has it currently, and i am anxiously awaiting his call to say it is done. I am starting this thread to document the transformation, as well as ask for help in identifying the kind of chair it is, besides "rocking chair" of course. There are no visible makers marks, as we had most of this chair in pieces at one point replacing the dowels and re gluing the joints . We also did nothing to the finish of the wood, other than 1.5 qts. of oil, to replenish the moisture content of the wood. This chair almost felt like it doubled in weight from when we started to now.






Thanks for looking!

 

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[can_slaw]

The work completed, awaiting pickup:





The gentleman who did the upholstery work is certain, based on the design, materials used, and the dried black tar like glue present in every single joint, that this is an 1870's to 1880's "western" style chair.
I can find nothing to prove or disprove this, so for now i am taking it as "fact". The potential age sends chills for me, knowing how many different people from all ages and walks of life could have sat in this chair.
This will forever be my favorite piece of furniture.

 

[Kray Gelder]

WOW! That is nice! Way to go, bringing it back to life! Kudos to the craftsmen.

 

[can_slaw]

Thank you. The gentlemen that did this work really are craftsmen. It was cheaper than getting a new chair, and SO much more rewarding! The upholsterer used materials similar to what was available at the time, and really laid everything out well. I am very happy indeed!

 

[can_slaw]

Finally home where it belongs.

 

[A2coins]

That looks comfy