Research Catalog

Title

Early seating upholstery : reading the evidence / Leroy Graves.

Author

Graves, Leroy, 1944-

Publication

Williamsburg, Virginia : The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2015.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

ix, 225 pages : color illustrations; 28 cm

Summary

"Little upholstery from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries has survived in America as rooms were redecorated or fabrics wore out or went out of fashion. Indeed, by the twentieth century, the upholstering processes were themselves largely lost. Graves shows how to "read the evidence" on existing upholstery and furniture frames and in period images and documentation, and in the process he illuminates the aesthetics and methods of early upholsterers. In Early Seating Upholstery, Graves examines the structure and components of furniture frames and upholstery materials, chronicles the evolution of upholstery fashions and techniques, and presents detailed case studies of side chairs, back stools, armchairs, easy chairs, settees, sofas , and couches. Graves also illustrates his pioneering method of conservation, describing step-by-step the treatments of a bare frame of a side chair and an easy chair with surviving foundation upholstery and show material."--Publisher's description.

Subjects

• Upholstery > Conservation and restoration
• Upholstered furniture > United States > History > 18th century
• Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
• Textile fabrics > Conservation and restoration
• Antiques > Conservation and restoration

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Foreword -- Chapter 1: A brief history of upholstered seating furniture -- Chapter 2: The eighteenth-century upholsterer -- Chapter 3: Structure and components of upholstered seating furniture -- Furniture frames -- Primary and secondary woods -- Joints -- Corner blocks, braces, and battens -- Rabbets -- Chamfered and squared edges -- Blocks and peaks -- Slip seats -- Tacking rails -- Upholstery materials -- Webbing -- Foundation linen and top linen -- Upholstery tacks -- Stuffing -- Show material -- Tapes and welting -- Decorative nails -- Fringe and tassels -- Quilting and tufts -- Furniture covers -- Establishing the profile -- Low-profile upholstery -- High-profile upholstery -- Stuffed rolls and stitched rolls -- Web- or Canvas-raised edges -- Raised stitched pads -- Cushions, pillows, and bolsters -- Chapter 4: Reading the evidence -- Upholstered pieces, bare frames, and show material -- Period paintings, prints, and other documentation -- Early repairs and alterations -- Faked evidence -- Chapter 5: Case studies of early seating furniture -- Side chairs -- Back stools -- Armchairs -- Easy chairs -- Settees, sofas, and couches -- Chapter 6: The Graves approach for nonintrusive upholstery conservation -- Side chair frame -- Easy chair with upholstery -- Acknowledgments -- Index.

ISBN

• 9780879352783 (hardcover : alk. paper)
• 0879352787 (hardcover : alk. paper)

LCCN

2015003982

OCLC

• ocn903248145
• 903248145
• SCSB-5826640

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries