Thursday, July 29, 2010

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Antique Deck Chair

This antique deck chair is from the 1920s. It is oak with a caned seat, back and leg rest. We purchased it in the late 1970s from an antique dealer in NYC and I don't know the name of the ocean liner it once belonged to or even if it ever saw the deck of an ocean liner!

Caned seating began in England in the 17th century and has been popular ever since. This chair is caned with the ever popular (and familiar) six way caning that forms a star like pattern. This chair is hand caned.

While researching for some photos of artifacts from the SS Titanic to add to my book review of Titantic survivor Lawrence Beesley's "Loss of the SS Titanic" (you can read the review here or just scroll down to my previous post) I found this photo of a deck chair recovered from the sea. You can see that the back and leg rest are wood slats and only the seat is rattan. The seat may have been recaned later- I have seen photos of pieces of caned seating recovered from the Titanic.Today, most caned chairs are "machine" caned-not sure how the actual caning is done but you can easily tell if your chair is hand or machine caned. All hand caned pieces have holes drilled in the wooden frame so that the caning can be individually woven through by hand with the pattern formed by which hole the caning is next woven into. Machine caned seats or seat backs are modular-there are no holes and you can see a bevel cut into the wooden frame around the edge of the caning covered by a band of caning. Both styles of caning look the same at first glance...so look closely! :)

For more vintage treasures, visit Coloradolady. She holds the linky key to all the wonderful vintagey goodness being shared today.

20 comments:

Blue Ridge Altered Art said...

What a beautiful chair. Thanks for sharing and giving some history to caning. You have a real treasure.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tip. The chair is awesome.

Postcardy said...

Your chair is beautiful, and I enjoyed the information about caning too.

Pam Kessler said...

Wow. That is one great chair. I love the lines of it and the patina.

Diann said...

Now that is the totally coolest chair I have seen! I love it. What a find.

I have to have our dining rooms re-caned with that same cane pattern.

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

What a beautiful chair! You have a rare treasure there.

Olive said...

Neat chair and thanks for the info. i will now inspect an old caned chair I have. olive♥

Susan said...

What a wonderful antique chair. And I've enjoyed the information and the past info too, on the Titanic.

Unknown said...

So cool! I never would have thought they had deck chairs on the Titanic. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Vonlipi said...

That is such a treasure! You don't come across these often. It's beautiful! Happy VTT!

LV said...

I have been around a long time, but never recall seeing a chair like this. How interesting.

Maureen said...

Your old chair looks to be in great condition. Interesting info too.

Barb said...

What a beautiful chair and when I saw it, I thought of the Titanic...

Coloradolady said...

Beautiful chair....I so enjoyed your post on the Titanic...it was most interesting. Happy "late" VTT!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the interesting information!

Happy "late" VTT!

Sarah

Deborah said...

Love the chair. I can imagine some beautiful lady lounging in it dressed in a flowing white dress and sipping a long coll drink on the deck of an ocean liner. Thanks for the history lesson.

Tallulah's Antique Closet said...

That is a great looking chair! Thanks for sharing......Julian

Roslyn said...

I have chair envy Miri, such an elegant piece reminiscent of days gone by.

Micki said...

What a great chair, and loved the information on it!
Micki

Ulla said...

Beautiful chair! Now I know my old chair has had a hand caned back. Very interesting explanation.