How old is this low back Windsor chair?

[matali]

Hi everyone!

I bought this chair (see images attached) at the moving sale just because I liked it.
The seat is in D-shape (or rather bell shape) and it is nicely profiled (really comfortable).

What kind of wood is it?
How old could it be? Is it worth anything?

Thanks for any information.
matali

[jacon4]

Whats your location? It's a low back windsor chair and this style of chair has been made since the 18th century. This is not a period chair, though it could have been made during 19th century, more likely 20th century i would guess because of the seat & crest rail.

Nice chair even if not period, value? maybe 50-100 bucks. Generally speaking, single chairs are a difficult sell for obvious reasons.

[matali]

Thanks!
I am in New Jersey and I got it here.

I asked about this chair because by accident I saw a very similar chair on etsy  (very similar for me) and it is rather expensive:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/173647212/american-windsor-philadelphia-wooden?ref=sr_gallery_17&ga_search_query=wooden+chair&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_ship_to=US&ga_vintage_rewrite=vintage+wooden+chair&ga_original_query=2&ga_orig_facet=vintage&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_view_type=gallery

I don't know anything about antiques and I assume the details are what make the difference.
thanks again
matali

[jacon4]

Yeah, your chair could be late 19th century, I like yours better than the one on Etsy but i really doubt they will get anywhere near 3k for a victorian era machine made windsor. Check out this link for what windsors are actually going for at auction

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/search?q=american+windsor+chairs&by_date=2014-08-04T18:26:34.703Z&sort=relevance&dtype=gallery&hasimage=true&type=complete&rows=20

[jacon4]

Is surprised others on this forum have not posted on your chair, they should be along in a bit. This era chair is quite a ways out of my field of interest in old furniture but others here might be able to offer more info. I am more a late 17th early 18th century kinda furniture guy so my knowledge base is limited.

[mart]

OK,, so I have been a little busy today Jacon4 !! Doing some fall cleaning !!  I do agree that this chair is late 19th or early 20th century,, and much nicer than the one on etsy !!  Couldn`t get the pic to enlarge to see what kind of wood but that honey color makes me think its maple !!
Might I ask what you gave for this chair ??  I think it might go a bit higher than Jacons estimate,, maybe $150. to $175. !! I can see this chair sitting in front of a nice old desk !!

[matali]

I got it for $30 (my very first antique:)

I am attaching a picture in better resolution.

Thanks for all the help.
matali

[jacon4]

CONGRATS on your first antique! It's a neat chair in pretty good condition, you did well for $30. There is another name for these windsors, "firehouse windsors", popular in fire stations where guys had to sit for long periods waiting on a call. Naturally, they needed comfortable chairs, no doubt!

I found your chair! or very similar form. This is a retail setting, it's from a known dealer and, they are asking $1100. This one still has it's original paint which is kinda a big deal in the antiques world. I think the wood on yours is chestnut.

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/seating/armchairs/american-firehouse-armchair-mid-19th-century/id-f_1098224/

[jacon4]

Here is the chair maybe, i have issues posting pics here

[mart]

Didn`t think about chestnut,, you are probably right,, we do not have much of that in Texas !!  I couldn`t get the pic to enlarge so couldn`t tell what it was !!

[cogar]

matali, I'm pretty sure your chair is maple.

And jacon4, American Chestnut and Oak look very similar and hard to tell apart without a "hands on" look see.

One clue is, a Chestnut board is lighter in weight than a comparable sized Oak board is.


Ps, just Google images for "Chestnut wood".

[mart]

  Morning Cogar !!  Maple is what I said above but now,, not sure,, I am not that familiar with chestnut !!

[jacon4]

Nope, is pretty sure seat is Chestnut, dunno about the crest rail, spindles. Chestnut has a rather sad story, it was the dominate hardwood tree in eastern USA till 1900 or so, millions of acre's of them, then a blight came along in 1900 or so and killed almost all of them. It is now on the come back trail with blight resistant trees being planted.

[jacon4]

Revises my estimate of the value of this chair to what Mart said, 150-200. It would be worth double that if it had it's original paint, generally speaking, windsor chairs were made of several different woods (even period 18th century examples) which is why they were always painted.

[matali]

Thanks for the interesting discussion - with the new name (firehouse windsor)  I like it even more!

The chair on the picture is very similar indeed but it looks it is in better condition.
Mine is more "orange" - I am not sure if it is paint or wood.

By the way what I should do with this chair? I mean, I want to keep it but how should I take care of it?

I've also noticed some small holes/tunnels in the seat and I am worrying about termites or other insects.
What do you recommend?

Thanks again,
matali