Jan & John Maggs Antiques and Art
![A handsome reproduction Brewster chair [27592]](https://nyantiques.us-east-1.linodeobjects.com/thumbs/1736000835275921b.jpg)
A handsome reproduction Brewster chair [27592]
Circa: 1950
$750
Item Details
Unsigned, but in every detail resembling the corresponding chair in the Walace Nutting catalogue, this exceptionally sturdy and complex copy of the legendary Brewster chair have the strong presence that has inspired generations of copies. Whether or not this chair is from Nutting’s workshop, it exhibits the highest standards of woodworking.
An infamous copy of the Brewster chair was sold to the Henry Ford Museum in 1970. The story of that chair is outlined in the following article on the museum’s website.
- "In 1970, the Henry Ford Museum purchased a remarkable 17th century armchair from an antiques dealer who stumbled upon it sitting in the parlor of a house in Maine. It was a massive, throne-like chair made up of spindles, a type long associated with one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, William Brewster.
- "Early chairs were often made by men called turners who produced the chair parts by turning them on a lathe. Sockets were drilled in the resulting spindles that were then assembled like a Tinker Toy. The resulting construction often was not meant to provide a place of comfort but rather it was intended to impress the viewer and confirm the sitter's status and position. The king sat on a throne; Elder Brewster sat in his great, turned chair.
- "Because of its rarity, this "Brewster" chair was highly prized by the museum; it was even featured on the cover of a publication describing the early furniture in the Museum's collection. The authenticity of the chair, however, was called into question in 1977 when The Providence Journal published a story about a wood worker who attempted to demonstrate his skill and knowledge by making a chair that would fool the experts. The article described in great detail how the chair was aged and how a fake provenance was imagined to provide a rationale for every one of the dings and nicks that represented centuries of wear. Unfortunately, the chair was the very one that Henry Ford Museum had purchased seven years before!
- "The story was picked up by several antiques publications. From these the story spread to The New York Times and then to hundreds of local newspapers. An extensive analysis of the chair proved that it was indeed a modern fake. For example, x-rays showed that the drill bits used for making the holes that received the turned spindles were "modern" having a pointed end rather than having the spoon shape of early bits. With great embarrassment, the museum finally admitted that the maker had fooled the experts.
- "The Henry Ford Museum keeps the chair as an educational tool. It has been loaned to several national exhibitions about fakes and forgeries."
The chair offered here is made of ash and has a very pleasing patina.
Width: 23 ½”; Depth: 16 ½” (at seat); Height: 46 ¼”; Seat height: 19 ¼”
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Jan & John Maggs Antiques and Art
[email protected] Maggs
2 Old Cricket Hill Road
Conway, MA, 01341
United States
Phone: 4133694256
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More Information
Booth 11
Shipping and Returns
Shipping: We offer free shipping through USPS for most smaller pieces, as noted in the item descriptions, and we will pack and arrange for the delivery of most others. For this latter group, we won’t charge for packing but will expect the buyer to pay the actual cost of shipping and insurance. For other pieces, we're happy to obtain quotes from reliable couriers and shippers. Please contact us with your address and ZIP code.Payment: We prefer payment by credit card or Zelle as well as by check from known buyers. PayPal Is an acceptable alternative. Payment by check usually will delay shipping until after payment is received.
Returns: We will refund the full amount of the purchase price if the article is not as described. These conditions will apply:
1. Returns must be requested within 24 hours of receipt of the piece.
2. The piece must not be “shopped around”, including the forwarding of photographs to prospective buyers.
3. Once we have approved a return, the refund will be made after the piece reaches us in the condition in which it was sent.
4. Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs.
Additional Information
When Jan, a collector of antique jewelry and period furniture, and John, a teacher and musicologist, met in the early 1980’s, it was no accident that their shared interests in music, art, and antiquities would morph into a rewarding enterprise. Jan’s family had been in the jewelry business since the 1800’s, and her passion for early jewels and period English furniture are grounded in this background. John’s career had been in the fields of teaching, conducting, and musicology, with an emphasis on the 16th and 17th centuries.When first together, they spent weekends buying at tag sales and Sunday flea markets. But soon they began to sell at these same markets as well as in two local multi-dealer shops. In 1985, as the fledgling business began to grow, they purchased a derelict 18th-century farmhouse and outbuildings in Conway, Massachusetts. Thus began a decades-long restoration project.
Even as the restoration demanded hours of exhausting labor, in addition to their day jobs, they began to exhibit at some of the myriad antiques shows throughout New England and New York, in one remarkably active year, exhibiting at 43 shows.
While initially focusing on American furniture and smalls, interests soon turned to the era with which they now live, early English oak. Following the leads of a few dealer friends, they made their first trip to England together in 1993, finding pieces they loved at prices that allowed them to bring them home and make them available at reasonable prices. Thus began a pattern of semi-annual buying trips to England, traveling in the spring and in the fall, with a gala opening in our shop soon after their return.
In February of 2017 the barn which they had passionately restored and turned into the home of their business was flattened by a freak tornado. Thanks to insurance companies that honored their obligations, they were able to design and build a new barn with comfortable and spacious showrooms in which early oak furniture, early jewelry, and paintings and accessories from the past four centuries can be displayed in room settings. John and Jan are eager to show off the new space and ever-evolving inventory, and they open the doors of the barn regularly to visitors who call for an appointment or who drop in by chance. If you visit our website, you'll find a link there to a recent video of the shop, so you can visit virtually in Conway, too. You'll also find a link on the home page through which you may easily sign up for our informative monthly e-newsletters.