Samuel Gragg
Side Chair

Side Chair

Public Domain

Side Chair
MakerAmerican, 1772–1855
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Side Chair
  • Elastic Chair
Datec. 1808–1812
Made inBoston, Massachusetts, United States
MediumBirch, oak, beech, paint
Dimensions34 × 18 × 24 1/4 in. (86.4 × 45.7 × 61.6 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by the Coneway Family Foundation
Object numberB.89.18
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Mcintire Bedroom
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionIn 1808, Boston chairmaker Samuel Gragg received a patent for what he called an “elastic chair.” Using steam or boiling water to bend thin pieces of wood for components, Gragg’s chairs would have had a degree of flexibility or “give” without breaking. The fluid lines, imaginative construction, and painstaking artisanship of Gragg’s elastic chairs make them unique in American furniture design.
ProvenanceAcquired December 13, 1989, from Bernard & S. Dean Levy, NYC
Exhibition History"American Made: 250 Years of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 7, 2012–January 2, 2013.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscription: Branded on the underside of the seat rail: S. GRAGG / BOSTON

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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