I no longer teach nor do artistic turnings, and since 2020 I have been immersed in building Windsor chairs. A couple of them were posted here some time back, but for the most part, I post progress pics and finished work on my Facebook page.
Since there is a significant amount of turning in a Windsor chair I am posting this here, plus most of the creekers I know come from the turning forum. If the mods feel it should be moved then please do so.
In any event, this is kind of the "pinnacle" of Windsor chair building in my opinion. Poplar seat; hard maple turnings, paddle supports and paddle; oak crest, arm rail and spindles.
First of all this chair is a beast! It is large and heavy, but it is what I hoped it would be - an elegant reminder of an important time in the history of our nation.
I thought it would be a nice touch to include some accouterments for authenticity, so I obtained a brass inkwell and a candle holder. The lacquer was removed and they were aged to reflect usage.
The Windsor writing arm chair came into being around 1785. The color is a "mahogany", which was first used on Windsors around the same time - 1785.
I found a type font that replicates a quill pen and drafted a "letter" consistent with the what was going on in the US at that time.
This “letter” is perhaps one that may have been written by a state delegate in 1785, and I have used the identity of William Cumming, an attorney and delegate from Edenton, North Carolina, written to Richard Henry Lee, the President of the Confederation Congress during 1785. A new President was elected each year and served only as the presiding officer over meetings and had no other powers.
While the combat of the Revolutionary War ended in October 1781, officially the war "ended" with the Treaty of Paris signed on September 3, 1783, and ratified by the Confederation Congress on January 14, 1784. The Confederation Congress was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation period. Each state delegation had one vote.
Getting a quorum of the state delegates at any meeting was difficult as travel by horseback was the only transportation of the day. Traveling from most of the colony states would have taken days.
The war had been financially devastating for a new government, and of the 40 million dollars of debt, 8 million was owed to France and the Dutch, both allies during the war against Britain. The rest was raised domestically for the most part.
I hope you enjoy the pics and the history lesson!!
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