Already a member?
Sign in
- EasyEdit
- Edit tags
- Email page
- Add a To-Do
-
(what's this?What are these tools?
People just like you can add or edit the content on this site. If you want to try editing, but aren't ready to add to this site, try our demo area.
Read more about editing pages at Wetpaint Central.
)
Ladder-Back Chairs
During much of the 19th century, German immigrants applied their wood-working skills brought from the Old World toward the creation of sturdy, functional “Texas-style” furniture, including many interpretations of the mule-eared ladder-back chair.
Mule-eared chairs derive their name from the vertical finials extending upward from the chair backs. They were constructed using native woods, mostly elm, pecan, oak, ash, and hickory. They had seats made from cowhide that had been stretched to fit, then laced and knotted underneath using narrow leather strips. All work was done by hand, using foot-powered treadle lathes to curve and shape each piece. Children’s rawhide chairs are much rarer than their full-size counterparts.
When the rawhide seats were first applied, they were furry, but the fur wore off with years of use until the seat was eventually smooth leather. After many years of use, rawhide seats could stretch, creating gaps in the area near the tops of the front legs. The seats seen on old chairs sometimes have irregular edges because pioneers could not afford to be wasteful, and had to make use of whatever hides were available.
Early Texas chairs show many variations because the people who made them came back from such disparate backgrounds. Carpenters, cabinetmakers, builders, and even wheelwrights brought influences and techniques from their own specialties to the burgeoning business of making furniture.
The first documented handmade chairs in Texas were not exclusively products of German immigrants—some very early examples were made by members of the Jackson family, one of the state’s “First 300” non-indigenous settler families. But the chairs that most showed Continental influence were those fashioned by master woodworkers of German descent.
The chairs were made by cutting the wood when it was green and steaming it so it was pliable. If the craftsman wanted to bend it into a particular shape, he used ropes to tether the pieces of wood until they were cured in the desired shape. Then he augered holes into the still-green wood and inserted the rungs of slats. As the green wood dried, it shrank and drew tightly around the rungs, so glue was never needed.
Mule-eared chairs derive their name from the vertical finials extending upward from the chair backs. They were constructed using native woods, mostly elm, pecan, oak, ash, and hickory. They had seats made from cowhide that had been stretched to fit, then laced and knotted underneath using narrow leather strips. All work was done by hand, using foot-powered treadle lathes to curve and shape each piece. Children’s rawhide chairs are much rarer than their full-size counterparts.
When the rawhide seats were first applied, they were furry, but the fur wore off with years of use until the seat was eventually smooth leather. After many years of use, rawhide seats could stretch, creating gaps in the area near the tops of the front legs. The seats seen on old chairs sometimes have irregular edges because pioneers could not afford to be wasteful, and had to make use of whatever hides were available.
Early Texas chairs show many variations because the people who made them came back from such disparate backgrounds. Carpenters, cabinetmakers, builders, and even wheelwrights brought influences and techniques from their own specialties to the burgeoning business of making furniture.
The first documented handmade chairs in Texas were not exclusively products of German immigrants—some very early examples were made by members of the Jackson family, one of the state’s “First 300” non-indigenous settler families. But the chairs that most showed Continental influence were those fashioned by master woodworkers of German descent.
The chairs were made by cutting the wood when it was green and steaming it so it was pliable. If the craftsman wanted to bend it into a particular shape, he used ropes to tether the pieces of wood until they were cured in the desired shape. Then he augered holes into the still-green wood and inserted the rungs of slats. As the green wood dried, it shrank and drew tightly around the rungs, so glue was never needed.
jsonderg |
Latest page update: made by jsonderg
, Apr 19 2007, 12:37 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by jsonderg
view changes - complete history) |
|
More Info: links to this page
|
