Help with old chair

[Lyndi Whitlock-Lane]

FASCINATING message board!

I currently live in Louisville, KY (USA) - & I'm looking for help in researching a chair I have. I collect old wonderful things from yard/garage/flea market/estate sales & I found this chair in a yard sale in Nashville TN years ago. Until 5 years ago, I really had no idea what it might be - other than beautiful & fragile.

I sent Steve Santini a personal email regarding this chair (I sincerely apologize for being too forward), because I'm trying to find out what this might be.

5 years ago it was "appraised" at Winterthur (a Delaware DuPont museum) as possibly (possibly) being a deck chair from the White Star Line, Titanic era. I cannot find a single mark on it, or a star - anything - to figure out who made it or when. It is very similar to one of the chairs found by the Mackay-Bennet. It's very fragile & the twine is crumbly. I don't know what, if anything other than the wood, is original, or where it came from - I know nothing & it's driving me nuts.

Can anyone help me in my search?

I'm having trouble uploading the picture (it's too large), so I need to downsize it first. I sent a copy to Steve via email. Steve probably hates me now.

If anyone would like to see it, I will put it on here as fast as humanly/computerly possible.

Thank you so much for your time,

Lyndi

 

[Steve Santini]

Hi,

I have responded to you via my private e mail address.

I assume the chair you say yours is simliar to, re: Found by the Mackay Bennett, is the chair owned by the Titanic Historical Society.

Forgive me if I ay be so bold, but the lawn chair owned by the THS looks NOTHING like any of the recovered chairs from Titanic.

Nor does it look anything like a WSL deck chair from any ships of the line and it also does not look like a chair from the cooling room of the Turkish Bath (which in recent years it has been surmised it may in fact be).

As for your chair, best guess would be that it is a vintage lawn chair or a lounging chair of the type commonly used at resorts, spas, or hospital and old age homes circa late 1800's early 1900's.

Cheers, Steve Santini

P.S. No, I do not hate you!

 

[Lyndi Whitlock-Lane]

Yes, the chair I was speaking of was one of two photos (there was a damaged cane-backed chair & a wooden-slatted chair). My chair resembles the damaged cane-backed one, as you saw in my photos. The curve of the wood on the back was what shocked us (the similarity).

Well, I can't claim NOT to be disappointed, but I still have a very beautiful old chair.

Thank you so much for replying & taking the time to explain why you thought my chair possibly came from a resort or hospice at the turn of the century. I very much appreciate it.