The History of Upholstered Furniture Part 4

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PADDING

MATERIALS.

Since the advent of upholstered furniture some 400 years ago the

upholsterer has been constantly striving to improve the comfort of the

various pieces of upholstered furniture designed during his own particular

lifetime, and for many years the comfort of the upholstered product depended entirely on the ability of the craftsman. However, with the discovery of foam rubber and synthetics during the last thirty years the work of the tradesman upholsterer has been made much easier. It cannot be denied that although many synthetics have made much headway into the upholstering industry, many of the stuffing materials used during the last 400 years are still being used in the upholstery industry. This has been brought about by the reproduction periods of many of the antique pieces of furniture made by craftsmen in previous periods. This type of furniture calls for first and second stuffing’s stitched edges, and cushions filled with stuffing materials, which have been used as cushion filling materials for many years, and are still in demand, by a big section of the upholstery buying public. We also find that many of these materials are used in conjunction with the synthetics of today, let us therefore study some of these stuffing materials and see what influence they have

had on the trends of upholstery design.

Flock

Until the advent of Latex rubber, flock was perhaps the most sought after stuffing material on the market. As a filling on its own it was not satisfactory as it has a tendency to go hard and flatten out. However, when used in conjunction with a seat sprung with spiral springs, and if applied evenly and expertly by a craftsman, could be moulded into quite a comfortable seat or back. This material is made from fumigated rags, which are in turn teased in special teasing machines. Care must be taken when applying this stuffing material to an upholstered piece of furniture to ensure that all foreign matter is removed, and that the flock is completely free from lumps. Most upholsterers tease the flock in boxes with a stick before applying it to the actual job.

One of the disadvantages of using flock is that should the outside

covering material need cleaning, and cleaning fluids be applied then there is a possibility that the dye from the flock could be drawn through the cover thus ruining perhaps an expensive piece of material. This has often been the case when people have used shampoos to clean various pieces of upholstered furniture.

Horse Hair

An old timer that ruled supreme as a stuffing material for many years was horsehair. It is very resilient, and is still used by many upholsterers as a first stuffing for many types of upholstered furniture.

However, as in most things there are numerous qualities. The cheaper varieties consist of short hair with little resilience. Owing to the scarcity of horsehair, quite a lot of it, which is used at present, is reconditioned, and re-teased. It is often procured from old unwanted chairs and settees, and if washed sterilized and re-teased, can be used, irrespective of age, on fully upholstered furniture without any loss of its former resilience.

Horse hair is washed and sterilized by various methods, and after these processes it is twisted into rope, forming the curl, which is retained throughout its life, thus supplying the resilience and springiness so

essential. A large proportion is dyed black, whilst some is left its natural colour. These are called black and grey hair, but the colour is not so important as the length and curl. The shorter the hair the less the curl, and therefore the less resilience, and the greater the quantity required to obtain good results. Care must be taken when using horsehair as a stuffing material to ensure that it is completely covered with flock or linters, and should there be a laxity in this operation; the hair finds its way through the cover to the discomfort of the person sitting on it.

The History of Upholstered Furniture Part 3

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Today our love of comfort is as great as that of’ the Victorians

but our way of life has changed, so that in the designing of chairs for today we must assess these needs, and find the best way of solving them. Our rooms are smaller than those of the past, and the

amount of time required in running a home reduced to a minimum.

furniture therefore should take up minimum of space without

Sacrificing any of its usefulness and comfort.

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The history of upholstered furniture PART 2

2 Chairs became more elegant and graceful and were designed to enable the ladies and gentleman of the age to the up the elegant posing attitudes that were so popular. There was en elegance about the whole of this latter half the 18th century, with its finely proportioned streets, buildings, costumes and furniture. The coming of the19th century saw the beginning of many change that were to alter not only the face of Briton, but the way of life of millions of people. machines were to bring a new wealth, as well as new methods of manufacture; the population was to double in less than 50 years, and the demand for cheap food, clothes and furniture, and homes were to reach heights previously undreamed of. The first year of the century Saw the need for more, and more inexpensive furniture being met by simplification of style, and construction without much depreciation in quality; later the fine traditions of the 18th century lost in the fight for cheaper goods . Although we may condemn 19th century furniture as lacking in refinement, and reflecting the materialistic outlook of the Victorians towards their leisure, as well as their work, it is difficult to find fault with the comfort of their chairs. The introduction of the coil spring for the first time at the beginning of the 19th century was to open up wide possibilities in the design of comfortable chairs, Improvements in artificial lighting must have done much to encourage people to sit and read or do some hobby rather then retire to bed. By the 1830’s the idea that relaxing was not quite the thing was dying fast. The first deep spring chairs seem to have been installed in the men's clubs round St.James and Piccadilly, but quickly found their way into the Victorian home. The Victorians were well aware of the fact that comfort in chairs tends to be s personal matter, and that there Should be specially designed chairs for women as well as men. A study of Victorian furniture catalogues reveals the enormous range of styles and sizes in upholstered furniture in fact the Victorian Age can be called the Age of the upholsterer.

The history of upholstered furniture, PART 1

1 In the world of today comfort in sitting plays an important part whether we are travelling, working in an office, visiting the cinema or relaxing at home. The importance of sitting comfortably has a relatively short history, in fact the history of British chairs can be covered by some 400 years. Before attempting to solve some of the problems of today perhaps it is as well to consider the attitude towards sitting in the past, and the ways in which these needs are met. Almost all chairs up to the beginning of the 17tb century seem to have been designed on the lines of thrones; in other words, as chairs in which one sat with dignity rather than comfort, the hardness of the framed and panelled construction possibly being relieved by a cushion of padding of wool, horsehair, and feathers. To be chosen to be the head of a meeting, court or assembly gave one the honour of sitting in a chair, rather than on a stool or the floor, and so the word chairman has remained to this day. Even in the Elizabethan theatres it was considered normal to stand when watching a play. To be seen relaxing or reclining was considered to be bad manners, as well as showing weakness of character. This attitude towards sitting remained until well into the 19th century. The 17th century saw a big step forward in the standards of comfort in English homes. We find chairs becoming much more common, and upholstery an integral part of the design of the chairs. But it is in the beginning of the 18th century that we see for the first time chairs being thought of as truly upholstered chairs; in other words the frame work being designed from the point of view of a Skeleton to Support the flesh and "muscle" of the upholstery. Queen Anne wing-arm chairs are superb examples of the upholsterer’s art, but it must be remembered that these chairs, although extremely comfortable did not allow for very relaxed sitting. The height and depth of the seat together with the angle of the back did not allow for this. The rest 18th century saw the development of British furniture to a high level of design, and manufacture and is often referred to as the “Golden Age of Furniture”.

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