History of the Wing Chair

The wing chair is an English invention.

Called the wing back, easy chair or fireside chair, the wing chair as we know it developed over time. Wing chairs appeared in English manors sometime in the late 17th century and soon thereafter appeared in colonial houses in America.

Design

The basic wing chair consists of four legs situated in a squat little square. A long back with slight incline and high arms on each side surround the square. Two small ears, or wings, flank the sides above the arms. Since its inception, the design of the wing chair has changed little.

Purpose

The wing chair sprang from necessity. Residents of stone-cold English castles and chilly New England houses huddled around their fireplaces, seeking to soak in as much heat as possible. The angular shape of the wing chair retains warm drafts from the fire.

Development

The forefather of the wing chair may have been the English "settle," a hard wooden bench with a tall back and wooden flanks. By the late 1700s, a sparse wooden prototype of the wing chair was fitted with cushions. Upholstery was added soon thereafter.

References

• Metropolitan Museum of Art: In Quest of Comfort: The Easy Chair in America
• Design Boom: The Wingback Chair
• Buffaloah: Furniture Glossary