Chair, armchair

Furniture

Historic Hudson Valley

SS.94.1 a

Name/Title

Chair, armchair

Entry/Object ID

SS.94.1 a-c

Description

a. Armchair, mechanical with brown leather upholstery on a mahogany frame: floral ingrain carpet tacked to foot rest; serpentine styles flank a padded back, and flow into seat rails; padded arm rests originate from stiles and terminate on gently curved frame of leg support; frame of leg support echos s-curved legs which terminate in half-round moldings and caster feet; side rails are curved on the bottom and cut with scrolls; top of style is concave with flared ends that flow into curved knees; round button near joint of knee conceals the mechanism which attaches outer frame of back, seat and legs to the inner frame around padded leg-support; flat foot rest folds up on a hinge behind leg support when not in use; they are perpendicular to leg support when in down position; weight against the seat back, the back reclines, and leg support rises, setting the chair into a reclined, almost horizontal position. Two engraved metal plaques, one on each side rail read: (left side)"WASHINGTON IRVING/ BORN IN NEW YORK, APRIL 3, 1783; DIED AT SUNNYSIDE NOV. 28, 1859/ THIS WAS CHERISHED IN A NEIGHBOR'S HOUSEHOLD/ AS "THE IRVING CHAIR" AT HIS REQUEST AND FOR HIS USE. IT WAS SENT BY MRS. HOGE TO MR. IRVING AT/ SUNNYSIDE A FEW DAYS BEFORE HIS DEATH." (right side): "THE IRVING CHAIR/ HERE SAT- THE GENTLE REVERENT SAGE/ GRACIOUS AND SWEET COLUMBIA'S DEATHLESS PRIDE- IN THE SAD SCENE THAT CLOSED HIS HONORED AGE/ ROSE FROM THIS SEAT WAVERING FELL DEAD/ WILLIAM WINTER." b. Rope: Gold silk with tassles c. Two-part plaque: Wood-grained laminate

Collection

Sunnyside Object Collection

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Unknown

Attribution

Maker

Notes

Dates: 1834 - 1867 Date made: r. 1834 - 1867

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Transcription

See description

Other Names and Numbers

Other Numbers

SS.94.1

SS.94.1 a-c

SS.94.1

SS.94.1 a-b

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Overall

Height

46 in

Width

25 in

Depth

40 in

Dimension Notes

Display Dimensions: 46 x 25 x 40 in. (116.8 x 63.5 x 101.6 cm)

Dimension Description

foot rest in up position

Depth

34 in

Dimension Notes

Display Dimensions: 34 in. (86.4 cm)

Dimension Description

reclined position

Length

68 in

Dimension Notes

Display Dimensions: 68 in. (172.7 cm)

Material

Mahogany, Leather, Metal, Wool

Condition

Notes

Overall Analysis: 12/96: Conserved by Gwen Spicer, information forth coming. Ms. Spicer found a typed note in the chair during the course of her restoration, detailing its past conservation history: "This Washington Irving chair was received in the Bindery of The New York Public Library on August 1, 1938, for repair. The chair was covered with black leather, a grained cowhide which was sadly disintegrated. On removing the cloth from the back, an inscription in pencil was found on the wooden frame reading 'Rebuilt April 16, 1897,' thus showing the chair was not in its original state when received by the library." In the restoration of 1938 the old leather and cloth were replaced with new materials of better quality. "The webbing underneath was reinforced with double canvas strips 3 inches wide, and the cotton cloth lining replaced with linen. The entire chair was recovered with dark brown, full chrome tanned calf, made by R. Neumann & Co., of Hoboken, New Jersey. The back and underside of the seat were covered with heavyweight brown buckram. The frame, which had opened at the joints, was reglued. The work was completed August 15, 1938."'

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Washington Irving (1783-1859), Unknown

Notes

Former owner

General Notes

Note Type

Curatorial Remarks

Note

12/20/96: Irving's Death: There are a couple of references to Irving's death. While all located the point of death in his bedroom, none mention the chair. Pierre M. Irving. Life and Letters of Washington Irving. Vol. IV (New York: G.P. Putnam, 1864): 327: "Retiring for the night, at half past ten, his niece who always took charge of his medicines, went to his room to place them within easy reach. "Well," he exclaimed, "I must arrange my pillows for another weary night!" and then, as if half to himself, "if this could only end!" or "When will this end!" she could not tell which; for at the instant, he gave a slight exclamation as if of pain, pressing his hand on his left side, repeated the exclamation and the pressure, caught at the footboard of the bed, and fell backward to the floor... He had passed away instantaneously." For other quotes which rely on the same account, see: Philip Mc Farland. Sojourners. (New York: Atheneum, 1979). (see fax in object file) Stanley T. Williams. Life of Washington Irving. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1935.) vol II page 239.

Note Type

StorageNote

Note

Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Sunnyside, Irving's Bedroom Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Union Church, Storage, Shelf 17B Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Union Church, Storage, Shelf 17B