The Story Behind the Adirondack Chair
Todd Arend is a freelance writing professional whose expertise covers a variety of areas, including patio and backyard furniture, landscaping and design. He regularly writes for such sites as http://www.cedarwoodfurniture.com/.
The Adirondack chair is a staple in the patio furniture world. These chairs are comfortable, stylish, and have a unique and fashionable design. Adirondack chairs have been around for over one hundred years, and took a while to develop into what they are today.
Adirondack chairs get their name from the Adirondack Mountains, where the first chair of this kind was created. Blue Mountain Lake, New York is home to the Adirondack Museum, which displays the history of the this chair.
In 1903, a man named Thomas Lee designed what was originally known as a Westport chair. Every summer, Lee and his 22-member family vacationed in Westport, New York, a small town on the shore of Lake Champlain. Their home, which was named Stony Sides, was seriously lacking in outdoor furniture for one reason or another.
So Lee decided to take action. He began nailing boards together on his front lawn, creating new designs, and having his family members test them out. The Lee family finally decided on a chair with a slanted seat, a slanted back, and wide arm rests.
The slanted back and seat was actually very common in the hilly areas of New York. Chairs of this design were placed on a slope, so that you could sit up straight even on an incline. The Westport chair, however, was the first to create a slanted chair for use on flat ground.
Next, Lee took his chair to a carpenter named Harry Bunnell. Bunnell owned a small shop in Westport. Lee originally just wanted Bunnell to make chairs for his family, but the businessman in Bunnell saw a great financial opportunity.
In 1904, Bunnell applied for a patent for Lee’s chair, dubbing it the Westport chair. He received the patent in the summer of 1905 and began selling Westport chairs. Bunnell did all of this without even consulting or informing Lee.
According to AdirondackChairs, the Westport chair became almost instantly popular throughout the region. However, its reputation never spread more than 100 miles from Westport. Over the following twenty years, Bunnell experimented with different variations of the chair, including tete de tetes and Adirondack chairs for children.
Bunnell made his chairs out of hemlock or basswood. He painted them either dark red brown or green, or he just left them natural wood. Bunnell also stamped his United States patent number on the backrest and signed them by hand.
An original Bunnell Westport Adirondack chair was sold for four dollars. Today, however, an antique Westport chair that meets certain requirements can be worth up to $1,200 today.
The Adirondack chair has evolved a long way from when Thomas Lee first started nailing boards together in his yard. Today, it is one of the most well-know pieces of patio furniture. Many companies also manufacture Adirondack benches and Adirondack rocking chairs.
Of course, it is possible to enjoy your Adirondack chair without knowing its rich heritage. These chairs are comfortable, unique, and aesthetically appealing. However, learning about the history of Adirondack chairs allows you to appreciate the chair on a much deeper level.
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