The satirical article “Report Confirms No Need to Make New Chairs for the Time Being” is from The Onion (posted July 15, 2014). Ralph Caplan is quoted in “His Perspective, Chairs as Symbols of Civilization and Culture” in Chair. The Pollock quote on designing the Knoll executive chair is contained in Kelsey Keith, “Charles Pollock (1930–2013),” Artforum (February 21, 2014). The observations on monobloc chairs by John Dunnigan, Marco Velardi, and Jasper Morrison are from e-mails to the author; Andrew Morrison’s comments were made in conversation. The monobloc chair has not been the subject of academic study, but a good overview is provided by Alice Rawsthorn in “Celebrating the Everyday of Chairs,” The New York Times (February 4, 2007). The “Tupperware container” quote is from Hank Stuever’s “Just Resin; The Humble Plastic Chair Is Always at Home,” The Washington Post (May 31, 2001). Jasper Morrison discusses his work in Everything but the Walls (Lars Müller Publishers, 2002).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book had its genesis when I read a press release about a new chair designed by Tadao Ando. I want to thank Eric Wills, my supportive editor at Architect, for encouraging me to pursue the subject in a magazine article that ultimately led to this book. Melissa Shelton at Carl Hansen & Søn was helpful in arranging for me to see—and sit in—the Ando chair. As the book unfolded, I sat in many more chairs, and I would like to thank Linda F. Kasper at the Knoll Museum, Karen V. Nichols and Ben Wintner at Michael Graves Design Group, and Jodee Cuddihy of Pompanoosuc Mills in Philadelphia, who patiently allowed me to try out several Diffrient task chairs. The staff at Design Within Reach in SoHo, where I tried the Air-Chair, was particularly accommodating.
I want to acknowledge John Dunnigan, not only for making two armchairs that have afforded me a great deal of pleasure over the years, but also for sharing his thoughtful observations about furniture design during a morning conversation in Providence, and not least for drawing my attention to the monobloc plastic chair. A belated thanks to the late Peter Joseph, who introduced me to Dunnigan’s work and provided an early opportunity to write about furniture in a catalogue essay for his gallery. My old friend Andrew Morrison gave me the considered benefit of his many years of experience in designing furniture. Thanks to Jasper Morrison for sharing his thoughts on monobloc chairs, and to Alberto Perazza of Magis, which manufactures the Air-Chair. My appreciation to the magazine editors Marco Velardi and Martin C. Pedersen for their observations. Thanks to Laura Holland at Hickory Chair. My Penn colleague Nathan Sivin suggested several useful sources on Chinese chairs, and also clarified some Chinese terms. Michael Podmaniczky was generous in sharing his knowledge of Samuel Gragg and the Elastic Chair, and Robert Adam provided interesting material on the klismos. Thanks also to Dame Elizabeth Estève-Coll, and to Christopher Wilk of the Victoria and Albert Museum for his observations on Anton Lorenz. My McGill colleague Vikram Bhatt recounted his experience of the jhoola swing. My wife, Shirley Hallam, partner in many chair acquisitions over the years, cast a critical eye on my writing and also suggested the monobloc/flip-flops analogy. Thanks also to my agent, Andrew Wylie; to my editor, Eric Chinski; and to Laird Gallagher, Rodrigo Corral, and all the folks at FSG.
INDEX
The index that appears in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
Aalto, Alvar and Aino; Paimio lounge chair; stool
Abercrombie & Fitch
Adam, Robert (1728–92)
Adam, Robert (b. 1948)
Adirondack chair
Aeron Chair
aesthetics
Africa
Air-Chair
Aitken, John
Åkerblom, Bengt
Alexander, Christopher
Alexandria
Alfonso XIII, King of Spain
Allen, J. W.
America: Colonial; pre-Columbian; see also United States
American Airlines
Amsterdam
Ando, Tadao; Dream Chair
Andry de Boisregard, Nicolas
Ant Chair
anthropometrics
Antioch
Apartamento
Arab Revolt (1916–18)
Architectural Review
Architecture Without Architects (Rudofsky)
Argentina
armchairs; American; ancient; Chinese; folding; French (see also bergères; fauteuils); medieval; modernist; as office chairs; see also wing chairs
Arnold, Fredric
Arp, Jean
Art Nouveau
Arts and Crafts movement
Artek
Asplund, Erik Gunnar
Assyrians
At the Moulin Rouge (Toulouse-Lautrec)
Australia
Austro-Hungarian Empire
baby carriages, see strollers
backstools
Baillie Scott, M. H.
Baiser pris et rendu, Le (La Fontaine)
banker’s chairs
barbarian beds
barber chairs
Barcalo, Edward J.
BarcaLounger
Barcelona Chair
Baroque style
barrel chairs
barstools
Bätzner, Helmut: plastic chair
Bauhaus movement
beanbag chairs
Bedouins
beds
Belgium
benches
bentwood furniture; café chairs; dining chairs; modernist; rocking chairs
bergères
Beyond Diamond Rings (Choppra)
Billington, Theophilus
Blade, Mary Plumb
Boer War
Bonaparte, Napoleon
Bosse, Abraham
Boston
Boston rocker
Boucher, François
Brancusi, Constantin
Branton, Paul
Braudel, Fernand
Breuer, Francesca
Breuer, Marcel; B35 lounge chair; Bauhaus furniture; Cesca Chair; Isokon chairs; Wassily Chair;
Britain; colonies of (see also America, Colonial; Edwardian; innovative seating in; in Napoleonic Wars; see also England
British Museum
Bronze Age
Brookings Institution
Brown, Denise Scott
Brueghel, Pieter, the Elder
Brussels
Budapest
Burgundy, Louis-Joseph, Duke of
Burling, Thomas
Bushman, Richard L.
Cabinet and Chair Maker’s Real Friend and Companion, The (Manwaring)
Cabinetmaker Day School (Copenhagen)
Cabinet-maker and Upholsterers Guide, The (Hepplewhite)
cabriole chairs; design influence of
Cairo Museum
café chairs; bentwood
Cambridge University
camp stools
Canada
canapés, see sofas
caned seats and/or backs; café chairs with; modernist designs using; rocking chairs with; side chairs with
cantilever chairs; see also Cesca Chair
Caplan, Ralph
Carl Hansen & Søn
Carpenter Hall (Philadelphia)
Catherine of Braganza, Queen
Cesca Chair
Chadwick, Don; Aeron Chair; Sarah Chair
chaises longues; variants of
Chapuis, Jean-Joseph
Chardin, Jean-Baptiste-Simeon
Charlemagne
Charles II, King of England
Charles VII, King of France
Châtelet, Émilie, Marquise du
chauffeuse (warming chair)
Cheops (pharaoh)
Chicago
Chieftain’s Chair
China; ancient; dynastic
Chinese Household Furniture (Kates)
Chippendale, Thomas; design i
nfluence of
Choppra, Kusum
Christy, Howard Chandler
Churchill, Winston
Cirey, Château de
Civil War
club chairs
Collins, Lauren
Collins, Peter
Congress Voting Independence (Pine)
Consumer’s Chair
Coolidge, Calvin
Cooper Union
Copenhagen Cabinetmakers Guild
Court of Gonzaga, The (Mantegna)
Craftsman style
Cram, John
Cranbook Academy of Art
Cranz, Galen
Crete
Crystal Palace
curule
Cycladic civilization
Czechoslovakia
Dagobert I, Merovingian king of the Franks
Danish Modern design movement
Darly, Matthew
David, Jacques-Louis
Day, Robin: Polyprop Chair
daybeds
deck chairs
Déjuner, Le (Boucher)
Denmark; see also Danish Modern design movement
dental chairs
desk chairs
De Stijl art group
Dickens, Charles
Deutsche Stahlmöbel (DESTA)
Diderot, Denis
Diffrient, Niels; World Chair
dining chairs
director’s chairs
Douro Chair
Dragon Throne
Dream Chair
Drexel, Anthony
Dreyfuss, Henry
Dublin
Dunnigan, John
“Dutch matted chair,” see rustic side chairs
Eames, Charles; Dining Chair Metal (DCM); lounge chair; potato-chip chair; reading chair; shell chairs
Eames, Ray
easy chairs; modern versions of; variants of (see also recliners)
ébénistes
Edinburgh
Egyptian Chair
Egyptians, ancient; folding stools of
Egyptian Stool
Elastic Chair
Encyclopédie (Diderot)
England; Chippendale furniture in; Georgian; origin of Windsor chair in; see also Britain; London
Ergon Chair
ergonomic chairs, see task chairs
Esherick, Wharton
Etruscans
Evans, Arthur
Everest, Herbert
Ezekiel, Jacob
Faisal, Prince
faldstools
Fan Chair
fauteuils; fauteuil de malade
Fenby Chair
Finland
Fireplace Chair
Flag Halyard Chair
Flagg, Josiah, Jr.
folding chairs; aluminum lawn chairs; Chinese; modernist; see also deck chairs; director’s chairs
Foliot, Nicolas-Quinibert
Fontainebleau, Château de
Foot’s Adjustable Rest-Chair
footstools
Ford, Henry
Fortnum & Mason
40/4 stacking chair
Founding Fathers
Fragonard, Jean-Honoré
France; medieval; swings in
Frank, Josef; No. A811F chair
Franklin, Benjamin
Franz Josef I, Emperor of Austria
Freedom Chair
French Revolution
Fuller, Buckminster
Furness, Frank
Fussell, Solomon
Gadabout camp chair
Garden Party, The (Assyrian bas-relief)
Gebrüder Thonet; convalescent chairs
Gehry, Frank: laminated wood chairs
Gentleman and Cabinetmaker’s Director, The (Chippendale)
George II, King of England
Georgia
Germany; ancient; Nazi
Gilbert, Christopher
Gilpin, Thomas
Glasgow
Gloat, John
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von
Gold Medal Camp Furniture Manufacturing Company
Gordon, Patrick
Gothic Revival
Gothic style
Gouty Stool
Graffigny, Françoise de
Gragg, Samuel; Elastic Chair
Graves, Michael: klismos chair; transport chair
Greek Revival
Greeks, ancient; see also klismos chairs
Grollier de Servière, Nicolas
Gropius, Walter
guild system
Guimard, Hector
Ham House chairs
Hansen, Fritz
Hansen, Johannes
Han Xizai
Happy Accidents of the Swing, The (Fragonard)
Haydn, Joseph
Hemingway, Ernest
Henzey, Joseph
Hepplewhite, George
Heurtaut, Nicolas
Hewes, Gordon W.
Hickory Chair Company
Hoffmann, Josef; Sitzmaschine
Hogarth, William
Hollywood
Homer
hoop-back chairs; see also sack-back Windsor chairs
Hoover, Herbert
Hope, Thomas
Horace
House & Garden
Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (Hope)
Huguenots
Huizong, Emperor of China
Humanscale (Diffrient)
Hungary
Huxley, Aldous
IKEA
Independence Hall
India
Indonesia
Industrial Age
industrial production
Industrial Revolution
Interiors magazine
International Exposition (Barcelona, 1929)
Islamic culture
Isokon
Issigonis, Alec
Italy
Itten, Johannes
Ivar Chair
Jacob, George
Jacobsen, Arne; Ant Chair; Series 7 chair
Jamaica
Japan
JCPenney
Jean II, Duke of Alençon
Jeanneret, Pierre
Jefferson, Thomas
Jennings, Harry
Jensen, Georg
Joan of Arc
Johansson, Birthe and Torsten
Johnson, Lyndon B.
Johnson, Philip
Juhl, Finn
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute
Kamprad, Ingvar
Kandinsky, Wassily
Kates, George Norbert
Kazam! machine
Kelly, Ellen Davis
Kennedy, John F.
King, Bob
Kjær, Jacob
Kjærholm, Poul
Kleinhans Music Hall
Kline, Samuel
Klint, Kaaere; Red Chair; Safari Chair
klismos chairs; design influence of
knockdown furniture
Knoll, Florence
Knoll company
Knossos, Palace of
Koch, Mogens
Kohn furniture company
Konsumstuhl, see Consumer’s Chair
Koolhaas, Rem
Korea
Kubler, George
L.L. Bean
La Fontaine, Jean de
Larsen, Ejner
Late Neolithic period
Latin America
Latour, Louis
Latrobe, Benjamin
Lauderdale, Elizabeth Murray, Duchess of
lawn chairs
Lawrence, T. E.
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lazare Duvaux
La-Z-Boy recliners
Lean, David
Le Corbusier; fauteuil à dossier basculant; chaise longue
Lee, Thomas
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm
Lengyel, Kalman
Life magazine
Lincoln, Abraham
Line of Beauty
London; Great
Exhibition in (1851)
Loos, Adolf: Café Museum chair
Lorenz, Anton
Lorenz, Irene
Louis XIV, King of France
Louis XV, King of France; bergère
Louis XVI, King of France
lounge chairs; modernist designers of; precursors of, see chaises longues; klismos chairs; see also deck chairs; recliners; Sitzmaschine
Louvre
Luckhardt, Hans and Wassili
lumbar support
Lundgren, Gillis
Mackintosh, Charles Rennie
Mackintosh, Margaret
Maclaren, Owen Finlay
Madsen, Bender
Magistretti, Vico: plastic chair
Maloof, Sam
Mannessmann Steel Works
Mantegna, Andrea
Manwaring, Robert
marquetry
Martin brothers
mass production; see also industrial production
Matisse, Henri
May, Samuel
Mayans
McKinley, William
Measure of Man, The (Dreyfuss)
medical chairs
Medicis
medieval era, see Middle Ages
Meier, Richard
Melanesians
Memphis design group
Mendelsohn, Erich
Merlin, John Joseph
Mesopotamia
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
Metternich, Prince Klemens von
Middle Ages
Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig; Barcelona Chair; MR10; Tugendhat Chair
Miller, Herman
Minoans
Mitford, Nancy
modernists; see also Bauhaus movement
Mogensen, Børge
Molière
Møller, Erik
Mondrian, Piet
Mongols
monobloc chairs
Monticello
Montreal
Moore, Henry
Moors
Moravia
Morning Session, The (Matisse)
Morris, William
Morris chair
Morrison, Andrew
Morrison, Jasper; Air-Chair
Mount Vernon
Moustier, Éléonore-François-Élie, Comte de
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
MR10
Mughals
Munich
Musée Carnavalet (Paris)
Museum of Modern Art (New York); “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition
Muslims, see Islamic culture
Mycenaeans
Nabokov, Vladimir
Nakashima, George
Napoleon I
Napoleonic Wars
Native Americans
Nazis
neclassical style
Nelson, Horatio Viscount Nelson
Neolithic period, Late
New Book of Chinese, Gothic and Modern Chairs, A (Darly)
Newport (Rhode Island)
Newton, Isaac
New York City
New Yorker, The
New York Times
New York Times Building (New York, 2007)
Night Revels of Han Xizai, The (Chinese scroll painting)
North Carolina