Description:

American Gothic Carved Walnut Hall Chair, mid-19th c., stamped "C. Robinson Rochester New York" on lower stile, crocketed arched quatrefoil crest, padded back, paneled stiles and seat rail, blocked paneled legs, casters, retains old surface and needlepoint Note: The side chair in the current lot bears the stamped mark of Charles Robinson, a chair maker active in Rochester, New York, from 1830 to 1878. Robinson and his five brothers arrived in Rochester after the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. By 1834, Robinson was working as a turner. In the early 1840s, Robinson began to mass produce at his factory on Brown’s Race simple, inexpensive ladder-back chairs with stenciled decoration. In the collection of the New York State Museum is a black-painted and stenciled side chair that is representative of the firm’s production. The modest quality of the chairs associated with Robinson’s factory implies that this high-style side chair of expensive rosewood was most likely made by a cabinetmaking establishment in an urban center such as New York City, purchased by Robinson on the wholesale market, and retailed by his firm. During the second half of the nineteenth century, a number of large-scale furniture manufactories supplemented their stock with better quality pieces made for the wholesale trade by smaller cabinetmaking firms. The current lot is similar to Gothic Revival walnut, rosewood and mahogany side chairs made in Troy and New York City, New York. Ref.: Blake McKelvey, “Lumber and Wood Processing in Rochester’s History,” Rochester History (January 1978), p. 14; John L. Scherer, “New York Furniture at the New York State Museum” (Alexandria, VA, 1983), p. 103; Katherine S. Howe and David B. Warren, “The Gothic Revival Style in America, 1839-1870” (Houston, 1976), pp. 22-23.

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September 13, 2015 11:00 AM CDT
New Orleans, LA, US

Neal Auction Company

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $9,999 $250
$10,000 $49,999 $500
$50,000 $999,999 $5,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $10,000
$2,000,000 $2,999,999 $15,000
$3,000,000 + $20,000