FIG. 1
FIG. 2
The chair shown in Fig. [4] is an English ladder-back side chair from the seventeenth century. Here we have both comfort and practicability combined. The seat is built up with webbing, canvas and stuffing, and covered with a needlework tapestry. It is finished with a fringed gimp with brass headed nails.
Not only does upholstery add comfort to furniture, but it reflects the conditions in the life of a people. Alice F. Schmall said recently: “With the accession of James I to the throne of England the style of dress changed to trunk hose and padded doublet, and the carven forms of furniture gave place to upholstery. There is a sense of dignity and refinement about a really fine chair; and the modern upholstered chair, which Chippendale developed, shows that our ancestors were fully alive to its advantages in the way of comfort.”
FIG. 3
FIG. 4
Good modern upholstery is to a great extent a copy of the older forms. Newer goods are utilized but old methods of application are retained. The cheaper forms of upholstery are, however, entirely modern. While formerly there existed no cheap upholstery, today wire and band iron are used in place of webbing, and tufting is done by machine.