Description:
One of a pair of fan-back Windsor side chairs covered with coats of black and green paint over the original red, made by Ansel Goodrich (ca. 1773-1803) of Northampton. The paper label glued to the bottom of the chair reads: "Ansel Goodrich,/Has on hand, and keeps/constantly for sale, a quan-/tity of warrented Chairs,/a few rods north of the/Court-House Northamp-/ton." There is an illegible date that ends in "9" in the bottom left hand corner. Goodrich employed up to five journeymen and apprentices, and bought roughed-out chair parts such as chair seats, from rural craftsmen; the apprentices or journeymen prepared the parts, and the master assembled the chairs. A shop such as Goodrich's probably produced four to five sets of six chairs each week. His inventory at the time of his death in 1803 included green, black, and white paints, 12 fan-back chairs primed, 14 not painted, and 56 partly finished; 120 chair seats, 400 rods, 150 bows, and 400 spindles. This chair has a serpentine crest rail with rounded upturned ears; elongated vase-turned stiles and seven tapered spindles; shield-shaped saddle seat with a slight peak in front; and four splayed vase, ring and flattened-ball turned legs connected with bulbous-turned medial and two side stretchers.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+54.086 |
