| Chairs as you can imagine have a long history, for as | | | | a chair on which a lady could recline. The French too |
| long as there has been man (and woman) there has | | | | are said to have a great effect on the evolution of |
| been the need to sit down on something | | | | the chair, the first truly lightweight and comfortable |
| comfortable, or as comfortable as was available, | | | | chairs being developed by French chair designers. |
| affordable and most importantly perhaps "allowable". | | | | Their efforts sparked off a whole class of |
| Why "allowable", well throughout history chairs have | | | | upholstered chairs, including sleeping chairs, armchairs, |
| reflected the status of the person sitting on them. | | | | wing chairs, and a chairs characterized by having seat |
| The size, decoration and sheer ornateness of the | | | | heights more convenient for uses other than at a |
| chair saying a lot about the person sitting in it. Indeed | | | | dining table or desk, e.g. slipper chairs and lounge |
| in classical times to the time of the pharaohs, the | | | | chairs. In Victorian England the legs of chairs were |
| chair was reserved for the high and mighty, only | | | | covered in many cases, as it was feared that they |
| kings, lords and bishops were allowed chairs at all, the | | | | too closely resembled those of a women and as |
| rest of the populace had to do with sitting on chests, | | | | such might inflame the senses... Chair construction |
| benches or stools. The church and the chair have an | | | | methods have changed dramatically over the years |
| even deeper connection, as the word "chair" derives | | | | too. During the 18th century, before furniture |
| from the Latin "cathedra", the connection being the | | | | production passed largely into the realms of mass |
| designation of a church that was the "seat" of a | | | | production and of factories, chairs were made with |
| bishop as a cathedral. The chair however goes far | | | | even more curves than before, a process that |
| further back than Latin however, the Egyptians | | | | required considerable more material, the curved |
| having created some highly ornamental chairs for | | | | sections, the legs and backs, being usually sawn out |
| their pharaohs, while the Ancient Greeks way back in | | | | of solid wood in one piece. In fact, the progress from |
| 1400BC were building chairs with four sturdy wooden | | | | straight (and sometimes turned legs) to shapes such |
| legs, their design, the klismos being adopted by the | | | | as the cabriole and the klismos, and the development |
| Romans who introduced it in all the territories they | | | | of designs not requiring stretchers, (these relying on |
| conquered. Chairs were developed rich carvings and | | | | other techniques like knee blocks and corner blocks) |
| polychromatic surface treatments for the important | | | | can be followed as a logical timeline up to the point |
| members of society, but by the mid 1650's chairs | | | | where commercial pressures for continual change and |
| became common and were often upholstered. By the | | | | innovation resulted in the riot of revival styles that |
| mid 1750's most carpenters and chair designers had | | | | characterized the 19th century. Of all the types of |
| got the message that the chair should not only look | | | | furniture, the chair in fact presents the greatest |
| good, but should be actually be nice to sit on too, | | | | structural challenges, as they have to address the |
| hence chairs that hugged the contours of the human | | | | inherently weak part of a chair's construction, the |
| body were produced. These chairs had bow shaped | | | | joint between the seat and the back leg, an area |
| backs and curved legs, the arm rests were padded | | | | especially strained when the occupant leans or tilts |
| (and in many cases richly embroidered too). It was | | | | backwards. So the humble chair has not only an |
| incidentally, during this period that the 'chaise lounge', | | | | interesting history, it also is a structural work of art |
| the precursor of the sofa was developed, this being | | | | too. Long live the comfy chair. |