February 1, 1987
By Susie Dewey
Vigo County Historical Society
Parlor pride
Side chair vital part of Victorian lifestyle
The pair of side chairs in the Victorian parlor of the Wabash Valley Historical Museum was no doubt the treasure of the Victorian housewife who first purchased them. The chairs have balloon backs with upholstered drum seats. The open walnut frames have been ornamented with carvings. The slat in the back has a similar motif. These chairs were popular sales items between 1830 and 1860 and were carefully treasured and preserved. They could have been used in the parlor or the dining room of any affluent Victorian home.
The life styles of the Victorians required side chairs in several rooms. The chairs were designed so that the voluminous skirts of the ladies fitted around the curving cabriole legs. Such legs were ornamental, true, but they were also functional for petticoats, dust ruffles on skirts, and full long skirts.
The cabriole leg marked the development of the side chair in the Eighteenth Century. Previously side chair legs were usually tapered with fluted ends. The upper part of the new leg swelled out above and curved to the foot which flares out again. The best workmen managed to retain an unbroken center line which conformed to the grain of the wood. Since these chairs are walnut, they were no doubt made in America. English Craftsmen used rosewood or mahogany almost exclusively.
The drum seats are upholstered in black fabric that resembles horsehair. Genuine horse cloth was made from strands extracted from the manes and tails of horses. These hairs were combined with linen threads. The result was a surface so slippery that small children often slipped to the floor. Such children were admonished to use their toes to brace themselves from the floor. Other more mischievous children liked to make a game of sliding from the seats of sofas and chairs upholstered in horsehair. The fabric wore and was highly regarded by the Victorians.
The demi-arms of the chairs helped keep the slight figure on the chair. The curved and carved wood served as decoration. The balloon backs, the cabriole legs and the demi-arms originated when the art of wood turning became more sophisticated.
The first chairs were merely stools with backs or shelves placed against the wall. As craftsmen became more skilled, they developed a greater variety of line and decoration. The rose, vine leaves, nuts and fruits were especially popular decorations. Carved ornamentation was usually executed with the aid of a machine but finished by hand. Such intricate decorations must have added to the task of dusting the Victorian parlor immeasurably, especially when the heat was probably from a coal burning fireplace.
Modern viewers are surprised at the rigidity of all Victorian chairs. No furniture in the parlor or dining rooms encouraged reclining. Even rockers had upright backs and rigid arms. The posture of the ladies and children must have been excellent to sit long in these chairs. Side chairs were light enough to be carried easily about the room. The practice of grouping furniture in conversational patterns required some flexibility, which side chairs helped. In the later years of the period, casters were placed on furniture, especially chairs, to allow such flexibility.
In the parlor, ladies moved to the center table to show their post card, Christmas card, or Valentine albums to other young ladies. In affluent homes, ladies worked embroidery or needlepoint in the parlor. Utilitarian sewing was done in the sewing room or the basement laundry facilities. Of course, the mending of any garments, intimate or not, never occurred when gentlemen were present or even likely to drop by. In more middle class homes the sewing took place in the parlor around the fireplace. More family life centered in the parlor in the middle class home than in a home such as the Vigo County Historical Society Museum.
Some residences had more than one parlor with sliding doors separating the rooms. Always the most intimate room was the one farthest back in the home. Here sewing might take place or games with movement. Games flourished during the Victorian era around the center table. Side chairs were pulled up or pushed back to allow the parlor games to proceed.
“Parlor suits” were advertised with three to seven pieces. The sofa or love seat, four side chairs, and larger chairs with padded cushions and arms. The carvings, leg styles, turnings and upholstery on such pieces matched precisely. Such a group cost from $24 to $35 depending upon wood and fabric selected. A sofa with six side chairs could be purchased for the same price. Fabrics could be selected from velvet, plush, satin, brocade or damask, but the trademark of the time was black horsehair.
The side chairs in the Victorian parlor are among the most typical items in the museum. They reflect the taste, the habits, the philosophy, and the posture of the people who used them. These chairs are very well preserved and in excellent condition. A fastidious Victorian matron could well go the furniture and select them with pride just as they are today.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.