Side Chair Maker: Lambert Hitchcock (American, 1795–1852)

1825–32

American Decorative Arts

On view, 1st floor, American Decorative Arts before 1900

One of the enterprises that blossomed during the 1820s was the manufacture and shipment of "fancy furniture." Many of the producers of such furniture served wholesale markets, advertising "chairs in pieces for exportation" or "knockdowns fit for the southern market." One such entrepreneur was Lambert Hitchcock, who established a factory in northwestern Connecticut close to supplies of wood and water power. By the mid-1820s, he was making fifteen thousand chairs annually. The seat rail on this chair bears the signature he used between 1825 and 1832.

Medium

Beech, maple, white pine, oak, and yellow-poplar

Dimensions

33 5/16 × 14 3/4 × 15 1/2 in. (84.6 × 37.5 × 39.4 cm)
seat: 17 5/8 in. (44.8 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Stiner, B.A. 1945W, in honor of Dr. Joseph Weiner, Ph.B. 1916S

Accession Number

1977.48.4

Geography

Made in Hitchcocksville, Connecticut

Culture

American

Period

19th century

Classification

Furniture

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Bibliography
  • Helen A. Cooper et al., Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art from the Yale University Art Gallery, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2008), 259, no. 149, ill
  • "Acquisitions 1977," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin 37, no. 1 (Fall 1978), 72, ill
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

side chairs

Marks

Stenciled on rear seat rail: "L. HITCHCOCKS-VILLE. CONN. WARRENTED"

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

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