Accession Number

2017.013.001

Description

A dark brown wicker armchair with tacked-on imitation leather seat and back panel in an inverted-V shape. The body of the chair is made of wood wrapped and joined by woven reed. with decorative lattice work between the structural pieces. The top of the chair has four rattan-wrapped finals, the inner two being taller than the outer two. Similar finials are located at the end of each arm. The seat is supported with woven cane which is torn. Horse-hair stuffing is visible through the tears. An orange paper label on the underside of the chair base indicates the manufacturer, "Heywood Bros & Co." and model number "8659".

Narrative

Wicker furniture was very popular among North American homeowners during the late 19^th Century. The pliable nature of the rattan reed allowed designers to create artistic furniture that was relatively inexpensive to manufacture. Historic photographs of Victorian domestic interiors reveal that wicker furniture could be found in almost every room of the well-appointed home.

This chair has an affixed label from Heywood Bros. & Co. of Gardner, Massachusetts. The chair was model #8659. Because the firm merged with the Wakefield Rattan Company to become “The Heywood Bros. and Wakefield Company” in 1897, this label probably indicates that the chair was made in 1897 or earlier.

The 1909 auction catalogue of items sold from Craigdarroch after Joan Dunsmuir’s death lists twelve pieces of wicker seating furniture, including one rocker and ten armchairs. This armchair’s presence in Craigdarroch’s period room settings increases the authenticity of Dunsmuir-era presentation in the Castle.

History of Use

This armchair was purchased new and used in the Burch family house in St Catharines, Ontario (now demolished) from about 1890 onward. George Burch owned and managed a thriving machine and tool factory in St. Catharines. The house was located at 79 Thorold Road and known to the family as the “Thorold Road House”. It was one of most lavish mansions in the area. A high-quality period photograph of the library in this house has survived, and this armchair is depicted in it. A copy of the photograph forms part of the collection record. The donor is the great granddaughter of George Burch.

Date

1880 – 1897

Dimensions

95 x 59 x 56 cm

Material

Cane; Hair, horsehair; Fabric, cotton, canvas