Antique Chair

Your chair is a Victorian piece in the "Eastlake style", circa 1880, the style getting its name from Charles Eastlake, who wrote a book entitled "Hints on Household Taste" in 1868. In this influential book he rejected the ornate decorations favored on earlier Victorian furniture and espoused simpler more incised rectangular lines sparingly accented with machined forms, and raised panels with figured veneers for decoration. Eastlake furniture was produced on both sides of the Atlantic from about 1870- 1890, the American version of this style were more ornate than Eastlake's original designs, but his name has been forever linked to this furniture ever since. The majority of American Eastlake furniture was constructed of walnut, with later pieces being made of lighter colored hardwoods such as maple, oak and ash. The earlier piece such as yours in walnut tend to be much higher quality than the later examples, which were mass produced on a much larger scale by the 1890's. Today the demand for Victorian furniture has softened due to changing tastes of collectors and the sheer number of pieces on the market. Speculation is that this is a result of the "Downsizing" of the "Baby Boom" generation thatis now heading for retirement. In the current market comparable pieces sell at auction for under $100.00.