Label
Daniel M. Tuthill was born in Westminster in 1807 and probably learned his trade from one of the local cabinetmakers working in Windham County. Tuthill had his own business in the Saxton's River section of Rockingham by 1833. This chair is similar to thousands of others that were mass produced in New England at that time. It is stenciled on the back in gold, "D.M. Tuthill/Saxton's Village, VT/Warranted." Tuthill would have employed several people in his furniture factory, probably on a seasonal basis to make the pieces, assemble, paint, stencil, and make the chair seats. In addition to chairs Tuthill made clocks, mirrors and picture frames and cabinet furniture in the early 1840s. By 1850 Tuthill had moved, like so many other Vermonters, to western New York where he continued to practice his trade.
Though this chair was one of hundreds made at Tuthill's factory, it still reflects the considerable skill required to make and finish. Note the variety and layers of color used to decorate it. The chair seat is not original to this piece.