Dear List members:
Can anyone help me with some information about the origins of the Morris
chair and how it got its name. As far as I can find out, Morris & Co. did
not make such a chair. It was produced for a mass market by various
furniture companies in the United States but I don't know whether such a
chair was also produced in England. Any info would be helpful.
Thanks,
Victor Margolin
University of Illinois, Chicago
Dear Victor
Re the above
The Dictionary of Furniture
Charles Boyce
1985 Roundtable Press Inc
ISBN 0-948894-26-1
has the following:
Morris Chair
Late C19th British chair; wood framed armchair with adjustable reclining
back and loose cushions for seat and back. Based on a rustic chair used in
southern Britain, the Morris chair was created in the 1860s by the Arts &
Crafts designer Philip Webb for Morris & Co. He was a partner in this firm
with Morris who is often but wrongly supposed to have invented the piece
The Geffrye Museum A Brief Guide has an illustration of one in a
contemporary setting and adds ' the armchair in the centre of the room was
designed by Philip Webb for Morris, Marshall Faulkner and Company and was
in production in 1866. It is upholstered in the original fabric a stamped
woollen plush called Utrecht Velvet, which was based on a C17th textile'.
Hope this may be of use - I have illustrations but my computer is so
unreliable at the moment I don't fancy being able to send an image to you.
Both the above have illustration and I'm sure the Geffrye would be pleased
to help
Kind Regards
Julie Banham
Humanities Research Institute
University of Sheffield
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