Windsor chair?

[nuteacher]

My wife bought this in 1999 at a yard sale off You Bet Road in the town of Red Dog, CA (I'm not making the names up; our home is a  town with gold mining history!)
 She asked me to post it on the forum for information about it - she thinks it maybe 18th century, but I'm ignorant about antiques, so I promised her I'd ask the pros.

Pictures are below:

[bigwull]

from the way its sitting in pic 1 it sure looks old...but not 250+ years old,..i,d say, maybe 1890,s +

[Ipcress]

Windsor birdcage chair. Could be late 18th, early 19th but it's in ropey condition.

[Rauville]

I can't tell if those are traces of black paint or not, which might be original? If so, the color black was generally used in the first half of the 19th century.

[bigwull]

could be spalted oak....which is a water based fungus...that turns black...the wood does,nt decay...as such...but, this is what you end up with...

[cogar]

The "wear" marks on both sides of the seat ...... implies that it was painted.

[mart]

I don`t think it was painted !! If it were there would be some traces left on the back and I didn`t see any !! Wear on the seat would have been in the center rather than on the sides where there is less pressure !! Staining on the seat could be caused by simple dirt & grunge !!
Can we see the back and the underside of the seat !! I would guess early 1800`s but needs a hands on look !!

[nuteacher]

Other views (taken yesterday) - I'll get a better back view after our nephews' children leave today- two 5 year olds  and one aged 6...we're going to be a little busy!

[jacon4]

Yep, agrees with Ipcress, birdcage windsor. Generally speaking, windsors are painted, you can tell this by how they were made, with different woods. Guesses 3rd quarter 19th century, it has bamboo turnings which were popular then.

[frogpatch]

Nice chair. I agree with the general consensus. Looks like mid to late 19th c to me. I can't expand the last pics so I can't tell if the seat is one plank or several boards. The first pic looked like a single plank but the underside shot does not. On the very early examples the leg would come though the seat and would be visible from above if the paint was removed. All that said it is a handsome chair and a nice heirloom. 

[bigwull]

the only heirlooms that i,ve got are two pots of ashes,.in my shed....ones been there since 2003...and the other from 2006....

[frogpatch]

If they are relatives you might invite them inside or scatter them in the heather. The shed is not a respectful place for them i it?

[cogar]

Wear on the seat would have been in the center rather than on the sides where there is less pressure !!

Now Mart, it's not the sitting pressure, ....... it's the sliding on-n-off pressure that causes wear.

[mart]

LOL !!  Then must have been a bigger person than me cause I only fit in the middle !!

I must say that this post was a learning experience !!  In all these years I had never heard of a birdcage Windsor !!  They are pretty unknown here and generally everything other than the bow back is referred to as comb back or flat back !! (With the exception of fan back windsors) Have also heard them called flat tops !!  Just a continuing education these antiques are !!!

[jacon4]

Hey, it's possible that this chair was made in the 1st half of the 19th century, impossible to tell from pic's alone. One thing for sure, this chair is worthy of some repair/restoration which would not cost much.  Linked below are mostly early types of American Windsors, many styles of these chairs are still made today.

http://www.americanwindsorchair.com/

I did the google image thing and this is what they have

https://www.google.com/search?q=antique+birdcage+windsor&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=SpHvUfnKDIma8wT394GQAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=899