May 25, 2013

Date a Chair, Please!



Quickie post!

Just got this chair at an estate sale and need help dating it.
Help me out, experts!
Google has let me down on this one.
I'm thinking 60's ?
'Cause I'm thinking that there hasn't been any custom furniture making 
at Monkey Wards since the dinosaur age.
  Aaron Montgomery Ward.
I know quite a bit about the man after looking for info.
Did you know that Forbes named him as the 16th most influential business man of all time?
What?
Yes, it was he that originated the catalog sales boom and offered installment plans.
The original "wish book" was Montgomery Ward's.
Sears was the copycat.
I always thought Sears was the big daddy, but no!

Dana? Anything you can offer up, Mid-Century Mama?
Or Marianne?  You live in Chicago so you must know all there is to know!

Can anyone advise me on cleaning silk damask?
You can see the stain where someone else tried it and I don't want to cause further damage.
I'm off to Pinterest for suggestions.

Help. Me. Please.




14 comments :

  1. I bought a sofa and matching chair like yours about 20 years ago, but the upholstery was very worn and it would have cost me an arm and a leg to recover them, so I gave them away. I guess that was no help at all, but your chair is a lovely color, Tina. I'm sure there's an expert out there who can accurately date your chair.

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  2. Tina, I don't really know, but if I had to guess, I'd say it either came out of the early 60s, when that style enjoyed a burst of popularity, or it came out of the mid-80s when Montgomery Ward tried to compete with department stores. That could explain an experiment in custom furniture.

    Did you find out how to clean it?

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  3. I know nothing, nothing! Love the trivia on Montgomery ward and the guy who got those things going though and the chair is very cool. Some smart blogger will have your answer. I hope so, anyway!
    Liz

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  4. Tina,
    sorry, no help here but it sure looks like something from the make love not war 60's! I do remember seeing furniture in Monkey Wards when my family took us there to shop but that's all I know. Hopefully someone will come up with some good info for you!
    Rebecca

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  5. No idea about the age, but it's a cool looking chair:@)

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  6. Finally! Something I actually know something about!! The resurgence of a combo French Provincial/Early American was late 1950s-early 1960s. (I spent a summer at "Furniture Camp" once.)

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  7. I'm with Kirby on that one. AND I just read a post about painting a chair at Hyphen Interiors. I'm going to do a couple I have and yours looks like a good candidate. Recovering is freakishly expensive.....you paint yours and then I'll do mine! LOL I actually want to paint mine soon so keep an eye out for a post on that crazy project.

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  8. Very pretty piece -- I love that color. :)

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  9. I only know that I love the style! :)

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  10. Well I'm absolutely zero help on this but it' looks like your furniture girls came through for you! Now when you have a craft question...let me know!!! It is a pretty chair!

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  11. I agree about 1960s. You should be able to have silk damask cleaned by any good upholstery cleaner.

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  12. I have never a dated a chair, only a couple tools.

    Bliss

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  13. I have no actual, concrete information, but I agree it looks early 60s! Great chair!

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Thanks for taking the time to leave me your thoughts. I appreciate each and every one!