Custom Made Hooded Armchair # 1 (9)

Furniture

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Vail Museum

Name/Title

Custom Made Hooded Armchair # 1 (9)

Entry/Object ID

2012.001.1

Description

Chair, hooded tablet arm chair designed for Theodore Newton Vail, walnut, black leather padding on back and seat, brass identifying plaque

Context

This custom made, hooded chair (1 of 2) was commissioned by T.N. Vail, founding president of AT&T, for a visit from William Howard Taft. This chair has a nameplate for Theodore Newton Vail. The nameplate is not original to the chair, but was placed on the chair in the mid 20th century, to distinguish it from its mate. Both Vail and Taft were big men and this is a big chair. Anecdotally, the hood was designed for two primary purposes. 1, to capture heat from a fireplace, and 2, to help keep the conversation between the two men confidential. The hood proved useful for trapping sound. A photograph taken during the era included here shows the 2 chairs near a fireplace on what was called The Stone Porch inside the south tower of Vail's mansion.

Cataloged By

Betty Beattie Bolevic & Maxine Gray Aldrich