rocking chair info

[poorhouse]

hello, i came across this sight while i was trying to research an item.  maybe you all can help out a bit.  i got this chair from an estate.  it's a long story but ends up with me getting everything.  this chair is different from what i've seen and haven't been able to find one like it.  any input would be appreciated, thanks.

anyone?? bueller???bueller???  any info???  thanks.

[Tim]

I like this piece. American Revival, mid 19th Century in French, Greek........Dunno know again. Looks all original, but obviously needs some major restoration. There are places to order the leather pieces, Van Dykes, etc.

[D&b antiques]

French rocker also know in france as garden chair. appears to be oak. pity about the condition. $75.00 to $100.00 dollars.

[talesofthesevenseas]

It does look like it was once VERY beautiful. If that is leather on the back, I'd take it to a really good leather artisan and ask him/her to duplicate the original design. Then save the original. It would probably cost a lot to restore, but it would be a shame to put a lesser quality back and seat on what was once a really neat chair.

[Dean Perdue]

Awesome chair.
Got to love all the details on it.
Looks like it's a worthy canidate for some leather replacement.
Hows the condition other than the backing and seat areas?
How gratifying would it be to chill-out in this bad boy after the restoration project is complete?
Looks worthwhile to me.

[D&b antiques]

have too agree. it dates to the 1880's.

[fancypants]

It appears to me , from your images , that there have been previous repairs done .

Looks like there have been 2 strut rods installed to help hold it together ... am I seeing things again , or is this so ?

If it is so , there's likely to be some joint damage that will need careful attention when/if you restore this piece .

It does really look like a great Winter project !

[KC]

Love the looks....if you could restore you would have a gem there!

[poorhouse]

wow, thanks for the great response.  it does have some sort of strut rods in it.  a guy looked at it and thought maybe a rather large person may have sat in it and broke it at some point.  it is nice but to have a leather person try to copy the pattern sounds expensive.  how about a nice weathered brown piece of leather?  thanks again for all the info.

[regularjoe2]

If you're fairly skilled in such things , you could make a re-enforced 'male/female' casting (carving out the plaster to replace the missing areas/images) and press the pattern into wet leather all by yourself ; the process for forming the leather is very much like making a custom holster for a knife or pistol ... it is a bunch of work for one chair , but you could make at least two from one mold , if done properly .

I'd think about a piece of tanned elk hide , if it were mine ( Elk is tough stuff ) & I didn't want to keep the pressed leather .

[ironlord1963]

That is a good ideal,  I was thinking something like mounting the orginal to a new piece of leather then remounting it to the chair.  Not at all a area I know about, but to perserve all original parts would be important if the task was mine. This may affect the functionality of the chair, but would still look really excellent.  Not sure how this would affect value but Save what you can is my opinion.  If you can do what regularjoe suggest then even better.  All I really know here is that is one awesome chair, and it deserve the best that can be done to make it look great.

[cogar]

From the design of the chair I think the "stretcher" rods from the back to the seat are original.

I also think that if you purchase a "period" upholstery fabric for the back and seat of your chair it will look just fine. You will of course need a support for the seat fabric, such as a fiber seat, to wit: http://www.ansaldi.com/Catalog/SearchResults.asp?SearchFlag=1&CategoryId=33

Take your chair to an upholstery shop and just “ask for an estimate” and they will “give you a price” if it can be done and probably tell you how they would do it. You might even decide to let them do it if the price is reasonable. But you might have to “refinish” it first, which has to be done whether you do it or they do it. But much cheaper if you do it.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Gotta chime in on this, I've seen a lot of the ones with upholstery, and although it would do the trick to make it functional again, if you could go with the original leather design, you would really have a unique piece. I'd cast my vote for a spare-no-expense reconstruction of the original backing... since I'm not the one paying for it!!!! 

[KC]

I agree and cast vote for original leather design...after all that was the intrigue with it!  However, if functionality is only what you are striving for....

[cogar]

Well now, if you want leather, you will probably have to use a “seat” for the back and here is one place to start looking ….. if the dimensions are big enough, to wit:

Rectangular Leather Seats
16'' High x 15-3/4'' Front Width x 13'' Back Width Rectangular Leather Seat - $74.99 Each
http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_details.cfm?offerings_id=797&cookietest=1