Simplicity and Comfort Rolled into One

 

QUESTION: Some time ago, I bought a simple chair at a country estate auction. I love that chair but know very little about it. Someone told me that my chair was Shaker. Since I didn’t know much about the Shakers, I couldn’t tell. It just looked like a simple country chair. What can you tell me about my chair? 

ANSWER: Your chair certainly looks like a Shaker chair. But you need to know a bit about the Shakers to know for sure. 

Mother Ann Lee, who led the Shakers to America in 1774, had enough to do to get her sect organized. She began with a community in Albany, New York, and sent out missionaries to establish Shaker communities elsewhere in New England. But it wasn’t until Mother Lee had died and another generation of leadership took over the Shakers that the idea of producing items for sale as a way of supporting the communities came to be.

The Shakers attracted skilled cabinetmakers and craftsmen to their ranks, so it was a natural to use their skills to produce furniture for the communities. By this time, the Shakers were totally self-sustaining. In the early 19th century, the sect began to attract large numbers of people, mostly those who were discontent with society in general or were out of work. The communities offered security and food and lodging to people who might otherwise not have had it.

To support all these people became a major problem. So the elders of each community came up with ways to produce items for sale. Some made chairs, others produced seeds, clothing, especially wool capes, or took in mending and such. Many members were very creative and invented unique items such  as the electric washing machine. They were extremely organized as well, so mass-producing items like chairs wasn’t a problem.  

Those who called themselves Shakers—officially the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing—eventually numbered over 17,000. As the number of communities, referred to by the Shakers as “families,” their furniture making flourished. At their peak of production, the Shakers produced chairs at more than 50 locations. From their first base in New York, the Shakers expanded their communities to Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and even Florida.

The Shakers made many of their chairs along straight and simple lines to be light weight, strong, easy to clean, and comfortable, not every piece of furniture made by Shaker hands is a design masterpiece: Some pieces were poorly crafted. Some were beautifully crafted but poorly proportioned. And some exhibit such bare-bones functionalism that they’re awkward and ugly. Often they’re barely distinguishable from country furniture of the same time and place. Indeed, unscrupulous dealers and auctioneers often promote plain country pieces as Shaker and sell for several times more than they would otherwise bring.

For use in their communities, the Shakers created three kinds of chairs—dining chairs, side chairs and rocking chairs. They designed the dining chairs with low backs so that they would stand clear under the table when not in use. Or they could be hung on a peg rail against the wall while someone cleaned the floor. And to make sure the chair seats stayed clean, they hung them upside down. 

Side chairs came in several different styles. A sister’s chair had a lower seat than the brother’s chair. The dining chairs had two back slats while the side chairs usually had four, all of which were slightly slanted for extra comfort.

As early as the 1820s, many communities began mass producing chairs for both community use and for sale. They used the same designs from the 1840s to the early 1900s. Chairs produced in the early 19th century were mostly for community use. But during the last quart of the century, the Shakers heavily marketed their chairs to the “Outside World.”

The chairs that the Shakers designed to be sold to the public were lean and severe and produced in huge quantities that ended up on back porches and summer cottages across America. Their popularity led other manufacturers to copy their look, and these pseudo "Shaker" chairs appear in quantity at country auctions and small antiques shows. Each of the endless variety of styles has its own Shaker-designated model number. Most were originally stained dark brown, and slat-backs predominate. 

Even though the largest Shaker chair didn’t weigh over 10 pounds and the smallest less than 5 pounds, both could support the weight of the largest person. 

Each community made their chairs a bit different from those of other communities, changing or adding little details. And while they all began with the same design template, each community’s craftsmen added their own touches for their community. For instance, many people believe that all Shaker chairs have tiny acorn finials and arms that terminate in mushroom-shaped turnings. Not so. It’s possible to tell which community made which chair by the shape of the finial alone. The back slats were also often slightly different. The Number 7 rockers, for example, have mushroom arms, four slats, and a shawl rail connecting the backposts that replaces the more common finials. The Shakers often attached a decal identifying the piece as Shaker to the back of a slat or leg. But pieces meant solely for use within the Shaker communities didn’t have decals. 

During the second half of the 19th century, the Shakers painted some of their chairs and woven brightly colored tapes into their seats. Often they combined colors, such as red and black and tan and maroon. Most colors, however, had more conservative names like Trustee Brown, Meetinghouse Blue, and Ministry Green.

In addition to the colorful tape, the Shakers also used cane, rush, and woven splint for their seats.

The woods used in chair construction varied according to the regional supply. But it was always of top quality and well cured. The most commonly used woods included walnut, cherry, butternut, and birds-eye maple, as well as pine and fruitwood if the others weren’t available.

Although for years Shaker chairs never sold for more than $500, now even the most common three-slat rockers bring $600 to $800 or more. Some even go as high as $1,700 to $2,200. 

Pieces from Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana—often less austere, less "Shaker-looking" than their eastern counterparts—often have a Victorian feel and sometimes resemble local country furniture even more closely than classic eastern designs. .

The quality of many reproductions of Shaker chairs, made using the same tools and techniques, is often so good that they sell for as much as the originals.

For over a century, the creation of Shaker chairs was but a simple fulfilling of the motto of their faith, “Hands to work and hearts to God.”

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about art glass in the 2022 Summer Edition, with the theme "Splendor in the Glass," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Simple Gifts

QUESTION: I always associated the Shakers with rocking chairs. My grandmother had one, although I’m not sure it was an authentic one. But last Fall I took a trip to Hancock Shaker Village in western Massachusetts and discovered that the Shakers invented a whole host of items, many of which we use in improved forms today. What can you tell me about some of their inventions? And why were they so creative.

ANSWER: The old saying “Necessity is the mother of invention” certainly applied to the Shakers. Since this religious sect lived in communities apart from the outside world, they had to produce everything they needed. And this led to them inventing all sorts of things. And although they made and sold great chairs, especially rockers, to the outside world, they produced so much more.

Today, modern wood workshops wouldn’t be complete without a circular saw. Historians trace the origin of the circular saw blade to 1810 and the Shaker community at Harvard, Mass. It seemed that a Shaker Sister witnessed two Shaker Brothers cutting wood using a two-person reciprocating saw, and using her experience at spinning, realized she could improve the conventional way of sawing wood. She conceived a circular metal disk with saw teeth on its perimeter. She discussed it with some of the Shaker brothers who made a prototype blade and used water to spin it.  Today, the circular saw blade has been improved to cut everything from wood to concrete.



Mother Ann Lee founded the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, which is the sect's true name. She claimed to be the female manifestation of Christ. Persecuted in England, she and some followers came to Albany, N.Y., in late 1774. Ultimately they formed self-sustaining communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Indiana, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky.

They became known as Shakers only after arriving in America. It was originally a derisive name given them by outsiders because of the frenzied dancing and shaking that typically took place during their worship services.

The Shakers under Mother Ann Lee believed they should strive for perfection. Using resources efficiently and effectively and finding ways to complete tasks faster and with less effort was a step toward perfection here on Earth.

One of the most common of Shaker inventions was the flat broom. Mother Ann is believed to have said, “There is no dirt in Heaven.” So keeping all the rooms and buildings in Shaker communities clean was a major chore.

And while brooms existed before the Shakers, but they were typically lengths of corn straw tied to a wooden handle. Brother Theodore Bates at the Watervliet, New York, community decided that a broom made with its bristles bound flat and straight would work better than a traditional one, so he devised a way to stitch the straw so as to make it flat when fastened to a broom handle. Shakers everywhere began to make flat brooms, not only for their own use, but to sell to outsiders.

A major obstacle to cleaning floors was heavy furniture. Moving beds in particular posed a problem, so the Shakers invented bed rollers so they could easily move beds to clean beneath them.

Doing laundry for a community of several hundred people was a daunting task. In 1858, Brother David Parker at tire-Canterbury, NH., community designed a steam powered "wash mill." It sped up the laundering process and made the work easier for the sisters assigned to laundry duty.

The Shakers didn't often patent their inventions. but the washing machine was an exception. Not only was it patented, Brother Parker's design won a medal at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Copies of his wash mill were sold W several big hotels.

Shaker herbs and plant seeds were' sought after because of their consistency and high quality. The Shakers were the first to put seeds in small printed pack-ages for home use. The seeds were sold through stores and by mail order.

The Shakers also invented a spike wheel that produced evenly space holes l; for seeds, and it automatically planted seeds, too. It reduced planting time by about fifty percent.

Poplar trees were abundant in some areas, but the wood wasn't useful for either building or burning. The Shakers, !however, found it was an excellent material for baskets. One of the brothers !devised a machine to split lengths of poplar wood into thin splints that could the he used for basket weaving. And Shaker baskets became another product the World" demanded.



Shaker woodworkers developed a machine for making uniform barrel staves, and another for making broom handles of varying lengths.

The Shakers cared for one another, especially the elderly and those that were sick. They invented several things to make life easier for those who were ill. For example, they invented the tilting or adjustable hospital bed. And most Shaker communities had wheelchairs for the elderly and incapacitated. They were rocking chairs with large wheels akin to today's wheelchairs, and a stabilizing wheel or wheels in the back. The finger splint was a Shaker invention, and they created pill making machines for producing herbs and plant potions.

Only a few brothers took care of household chores. The rest were farmers, so they invented several machines to make their jobs easier, including a hillside plow, a horse drawn mowing machine and a thresher machine. Brother Hewitt Chandler of the Sabbathday Lake, Maine, community created the Maine Mower. which mowed hay fields more efficiently than other available equipment. And Brother Daniel Baird at the North Union, Ohio, community developed the revolving harrow used to breakup soil for planting.

And while brothers were busy in the fields, sisters tended to the feeding the community. Feeding several hundred people, three times a day, seven days a week was a daunting task, so naturally invention played a major role.

Cooking on an institutional scale presented its own problems. While a housewife might cook one roast or chicken or bake one pie, Shaker sisters had to prepare dozens, sometimes 60 pies a day. To help with them, for example, They invented a double rolling pin, and it's claimed they could roll twice as much pastry dough in half as much time, verses a conventional rolling pin. Peeling apples is no easy task, so a screw-based apple peeler was created to strip the peel from an apple in a matter of seconds. Once peeled, the apples were cut into quarters using an apple splitter, a spike like device invented by Brother Sanford Russell at South Union, Ky.

 Emeline Hart at the Canterbury, New Hampshire, community designed the Revolving Oven. Numerous pies could be baked simultaneously in this oven.

Sisters also invented the slotted spoon, pea shellers, a cheese press, bread kneading machines and even a potato washer. In 1796, the Shakers produced one of America's first cookbooks.

The Shakers even improved on articles of clothing. One of them, the woolen hooded cloak was a staple of every sister’s wardrobe to protect them from the cold blasts of winter. As with the broom, they sold these to the outside world to make money to buy supplies they needed.

Shaker communities attracted some of the best craftspeople and cooks but unfortunately they believed in celebacy. And that didn’t help their future.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  La Belle Epoque in the 2020 Spring Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Shaker Chair Chic

QUESTION: Some time ago, I bought a simple chair at a country estate auction. I love that chair but know very little about it. Someone told me that my chair was Shaker. Since I didn’t know much about the Shakers, I couldn’t tell. It just looked like a simple country chair. What can you tell me about my chair?

ANSWER: Your chair certainly looks like a Shaker chair. But you need to know a bit about the Shakers to know for sure.

Mother Ann Lee, who led the Shakers to America in 1774, had enough to do to get her sect organized. She began with a community in Albany, New York, and sent out missionaries to establish Shaker communities elsewhere in New England. But it wasn’t until Mother Lee had died and another generation of leadership took over the Shakers that the idea of producing items for sale as a way of supporting the communities came to be.

The Shakers attracted skilled cabinetmakers and craftsmen to their ranks, so it was a natural to use their skills to produce furniture for the communities. By this time, the Shakers were totally self-sustaining. In the early 19th century, the sect began to attract large numbers of people, mostly those who were discontent with society in general or were out of work. The communities offered security and food and lodging to people who might otherwise not have had it.

To support all these people became a major problem. So the elders of each community came up with ways to produce items for sale. Some made chairs, others produced seeds, clothing, especially wool capes, or took in mending and such. Many members were very creative and invented unique items such  as the electric washing machine. They were extremely organized as well, so mass-producing items like chairs wasn’t a problem. 

The Shaker communities' peak growth came in the second quarter of the 19th century. In1840, an estimated 4,000-6,000 members lived in 18 self-contained communities from Maine to Kentucky and west to Indiana. During that time, they produced the icons of Shaker design—the spare, functional chairs that inspire today’s collectors. The best display uncompromising craftsmanship combined with absolute simplicity—ladderback chairs whose turned posts have been pared to the narrowest possible dimensions. At first they produced these chairs for use within the community. But later they chose the best design and reproduced it for sale to the outside world. Customers loved their simplicity and sturdiness and the Shaker chair business took off.

But not every piece of furniture made by Shaker hands is a design masterpiece: Some pieces were poorly crafted. Some were beautifully crafted but poorly proportioned. And some exhibit such bare-bones functionalism that they’re awkward and ugly. Often they’re barely distinguishable from country furniture of the same time and place. Indeed, unscrupulous dealers and auctioneers often promote plain country pieces as Shaker and sell for several times more than they would otherwise bring.

The chairs that the Shakers designed to be sold to the public were lean and severe and produced in huge quantities that ended up on back porches and summer cottages across America. Their popularity led other manufacturers to copy their look, and these pseudo "Shaker" chairs appear in quantity at country auctions and small antiques shows. Each of the endless variety of styles has its own Shaker-designated model number. Most were originally stained dark brown, and slat-backs predominate.

Each community made their chairs a bit different from those of other communities, changing or adding little details. And while they all began with the same design template, each community’s craftsmen added their own touches for their community. For instance, many people believe that all Shaker chairs have tiny acorn finials and arms that terminate in mushroom-shaped turnings. Not so. It’s possible to tell which community made which chair by the shape of the finial alone. The back slats were also often slightly different. The Number 7 rockers, for example, have mushroom arms, four slats, and a shawl rail connecting the backposts that replaces the more common finials. The Shakers often attached a decal identifying the piece as Shaker to the back of a slat or leg. But pieces meant solely for use within the Shaker communities didn’t have decals.

Although for years Shaker chairs never sold for more than $500, now even the most common three-slat rockers bring $600-$800 or more. Some even go as high as $1,700-to-$2,200.

Pieces from Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana—often less austere, less "Shaker-looking" than their eastern counterparts—often have a Victorian feel and sometimes resemble local country furniture even more closely than classic eastern designs. .

The earliest collectors of Shaker chairs—active from 1920 to 1960—tended to be serious academic types. They studied Shaker life and doctrine, became friendly with living Shakers, and often acquired pieces directly from them as the sect's numbers dwindled. Then Shaker chairs became attractive to doctors, lawyers, and other professionals whose bank balances boosted prices to new levels.

A Tiskit, a Tasket, a Strong Shaker Basket

QUESTION: My great grandmother passed down a rectangular basket that, according to family legend, she purchased up country from a Shaker woman. The basket is in good condition and has been in our family for years. How can I tell it’s a Shaker basket?

ANSWER: Shaker baskets were one of the first American "signature"baskets—from a known maker or  group of basketmakers—to come onto the antique market. A combination of style, materials, weaving technique, rims and handles alert collectors to authentic Shaker baskets. But it takes a trained eye to separate a $10,000 Shaker basket from similar styles of Native American and country baskets valued in the $300–500 range. What isn’t widely known is that the Shakers sometimes bought locally made baskets for utilitarian use which has led to the misidentification of many Shaker baskets.

The Shakers designed each of their baskets for a particular task. For those meant to be used indoors, they labeled them for their use or where they intended to store them. For example, rectangular baskets stored efficiently on shelves without wasted space, so the Shakers created them to use to store folded laundry. They often labeled the basket for the room and shelf on which they placed it. The material used to construct this type of basket would be of the same pounded ash wood but lighter in weight, again pointing to the efficiency of the Shaker design. They places wet laundry, however, in stronger round baskets made with heavier pounded ash to support the extra weight. The style they chose for this basket was fluted rather than cylindrical, making it easier to stack the empty baskets after they finished with the laundry.

Despite the variety of utility baskets, the Shakers were most famous for baskets that they made to be sold. They referred to these baskets, made mostly for aesthetic appeal, as "fancy" baskets, which they sold as souvenirs to wealthy travelers at railroad stops and in the gift shops of grand hotels throughout the United States and England during the late 19th century. The Shakers named these fancy baskets for their style rather than their intended use. For example, when a person turns over a "cat-head" basket, the bottom resembles the shape of a cat's head.

Since the Shakers produced many of their baskets at their more numerous communities  in New York and New England, they used local materials. They preferred pounded splint from black ash trees for the horizontal material because it had stronger fibers and was more pliable to work with, as well as for uprights supports. Shaker craftsmen bent and drawknifed local hardwoods for handles and rims. Weavers wove the baskets with a continuous pattern that required an odd number of uprights. But the Shaker's need for uniformity and precision in design of their fancy baskets made it impossible for them to consider using an odd number. So Shaker fancy baskets have an even number of uprights.

Once a particular type of basket had been properly designed, it would always remain the same. Although styles varied from community to community, there was always uniformity within any one community. To achieve this, the Shakers used identical molds, allowing for basket components to be made by different hands and still fit together precisely. One person never made an entire basket. Instead, they used an assembly line approach.

Fancy basket styles can be found in various conditions for $1,500 to more than $10,000 on the open market, and the working styles are sometimes seen, although rarely, for less than $3,000 if in fair condition. Collectors will pay well over $10,000 for a documented good-condition working basket. So it pays to have a potentially Shaker basket appraised by someone who is an expert in them.

The Often Confusing World of Antiques

QUESTION: Every time I go into an antique mall or visit a show, I become overwhelmed by all the items.  How can I make sense of it all?

ANSWER: If you’re like this person, perhaps you’re mind and senses have gone into antiques overload. So many items–furniture, ceramics, pictures, jewelry, old Coca-Cola signs and things that look like the cat dragged them in. So where’s the good stuff?

It all seems so confusing. And the prices for some products seem ridiculous , especially if you’re a beginning collector. But don’t despair. There’s a method to all that antique madness. Believe it or not, there are some main categories.

When most people think of antiques, they think of furniture. And though it makes up a good percentage of antiques out there, smaller items, known as “smalls” in the antiques business--ceramics, glassware, silverware, toys, and commemorative items–all play important roles.
All in all, there are about 15 major categories and 75 sub-categories. Within these there are other, more specialized areas, such as antique maps and posters, two very specialized categories.

Even though antiques can be categorized generally, dealers and serious collectors use historical periods–Victorian, Roman, Gothic, Civil War, Western and even the1950s–to sort things out.
Often, these terms also indicate different styles.

For instance, in the world of furniture, you’ll probably see examples of English, French, American, and Chinese styles at most antique malls, shows, or auctions. Most English furniture falls into the pre-Victorian or Victorian category while American furniture tends to fall into different types: Pennsylvania, Shaker, New York, etc..

Porcelain or pottery pieces fall into categories associated with the country in which they were made–England, Germany, France, American, Chinese and Japanese are just a few. The four you’ll see most are English, German and Japanese, and American. You’ll soon become familiar with names such as Royal Doulton, Staffordshire, and Meissen, Blue Willow, Limoge, Belleek and Sevres, especially if you frequent the better antiques venues.

Glassware is the third most popular category. You’ll see all types, including Depression, Venetian, English, and Czech glass. Most glassware collectors specialize in a particular produce line–bowls, tumblers, decanters, etc. There’s also a refined category known as art glass in which you’ll find all those pretty vases blown in amberina, peach blow, and ruby.

These are just some of the many categories of antiques that you can begin to collect. While some tend to be higher priced, you’ll find plenty of small pieces of furniture, ceramic, and glassware to get you on your way.