Notice the flat slats on the back of the chair.
This is an Early American side chair most likely made in Salem, Massachusetts, between 1700 and 1800.
The Boston area, which included Boston, Salem and Ipswich was a major center of furniture making because of the locations of forests, mills and seaports. There were also skilled ship carpenters, who worked only intermittently on boats. But those craftsmen weren’t “finish” carpenters, and before 1700 the furniture was heavy, clunky and dark.
After 1700, skilled fine carpenters from England set up shop in the area. Those carpenters began producing finer furniture in the developing American style.
This chair is thought to be from Salem because of the “banister back.” The back vertical slats are flat on the sitters’ side and rounded on the back. This is a characteristic of chairs made in Salem.
Notice the detail on those same slats on the backside of the antique chair.
I bought our chair for $125 from a collector for who sold antiques out of his Westside Manhattan Apartment in 1965.
(Editor’s note: Palisades resident Howard Yonet has an interesting collection of curios from around the world and with his permission, Circling the News is publishing one a week. About the collector: Dr. Howard Yonet was born in Brooklyn in 1934 and attended Brooklyn College. He went to Baylor Medical School and then returned to do an internship at Bellevue Hospital. Yonet completed his residency at the Manhattan V.A. and the Montefiore Hospital. During this time he went skiing in Vermont and the Catskills, and while traveling found barns filled with early American pieces. This led to his interest in American Antiques.
In 1965, he married Daniele, who was originally from Nancy, France. During the Vietnam War, Yonet was drafted as a medical officer and stationed in Landstuhl, Germany (1966-1969). This was close to the French border, which meant he and Daniele and could visit her family.
While abroad, the Yonets took weekend trips through France and Italy, purchasing many interesting pieces at flea markets.
The family settled in Pacific Palisades in 1970 and Yonet practiced general radiology until 2006. He continued to acquire antiques and collectables at estate and garage sales and the Salvation Army Store. He also enjoyed looking for collectibles while traveling in Montana, Idaho, Colorado and Massachusetts. Daniele’s family helped add to his collection.)
WONDERFUL! A beautiful chair and a bargain price for a lovely antique American item.
Thank you Howard, for your information and pictures of such interesting items. Please keep them coming….I am sure there are others who enjoy your ‘history’ lessons as much as I do.