Early American furniture is rudimentary, utilitarian furniture made from local woods. It was brought from or modeled after European furniture styles, particularly from England, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and Spain.
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Appearance
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Simple – Straight lines, simple design, and little ornamentation.(Contemporary style shown) |
Chair Arms
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Simple Turning or Flat – Arms are straight with a simple turning or are flat. |
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Straight – Arms are straight and perpendicular to the chair. |
Chair Back Material
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Wood – Solid wood, horizontal slats, vertical slats, or vertical splats. |
Chair Back Shape
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Banister – Three to six vertical turned slats in the shape of a baluster, flat on the front and round on the back. |
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Ladderback or Slatback – Equally spaced horizontal flat slats, either straight or curved. |
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Solid – One piece or solid panel chair back. |
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Spindle – Simple turned vertical slats. |
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Stile and Panel – Wood or cane back panel framed between two straight or turned stiles. |
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Turned – Vertical turnings: the Carver design has a single row of turnings and the Brewster design has a double row of turnings. |
Chair Leg
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Round – Round, usually shaped or turned leg. |
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Straight – Straight leg, vertical to chair seat. |
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Simple Turning – Turned leg with a few types of turnings. |
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Square – Flat surfaced leg on all sides. |
Chair Seat Material
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Rush – Woven rush. |
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Wood – Various types of wood. |
Chair Seat Shape
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Square – Square shaped seat. |
Drawer Pull
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Carved Wood (Simple) – Simple carved handle made of wood. |
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Tear Drop – Tear-drop shaped pull attached by a knob to a back plate. The back plate is usually circular, oval, or diamond shaped. |
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Turned Wooden Knob – Elongated, turned wooden knob, often 3 inches long and 1.25 inches in diameter. |
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Wooden Mushroom-Shaped Knob – Mushroom-shaped wooden knob, often 1 inch high and 1.5 to 2.5 inches in diameter. |
Fabric
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Cretonne – Medium to heavyweight, unglazed printed fabric, often made of cotton or linen in large floral patterns. |
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Leather – Material made from the tanning of animal hides. |
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Linen – Fabric made from the fiber of the flax plant. |
Finish
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Oil Varnish – Clear finish that emphasized the grain of the wood. |
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Paint – Opaque, pigmented finish that obscures the grain of the wood. |
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Wax – Paste finish over a sealer, stain, or bare wood. |
Foot
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Block – Flat-surfaced foot. |
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Bracket – Angular curved foot, usually used with case furniture. |
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Bun – Rounded foot, flatter than a ball foot. |
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Continuation of leg – Leg does not terminate into a foot. |
Hardware Material
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Iron – Grayish-brown metal with a dull finish. |
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Leather – Animal hide, used in strips as pulls. |
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Wood – Various types of wood, carved or turned. |
Joint
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Mortise and tenon – Wood joint in which a projecting tenon of one board is fitted into a mortise or hole of another board. |
Line
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Straight – Straight lines. |
Motif
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Circle – A spherical shape. |
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Diamond – A figure with four equal sides and two obtuse angles. |
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Pine Tree – Evergreen tree. |
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Rose – Rose or similar flower. |
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Scroll – Form that resembles a roll of parchment paper. |
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Sunflower – Daisy-like flower. |
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Tulip – Cup-shaped flower. |
Ornamentation
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Carving – Cutting or chipping the surface of wood to create a shape or design. |
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Finial – Decorative turning affixed to the tops of case furniture, and chair and bed posts. |
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Paneling – Raised, recessed, and framed panels. |
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Spindle – Turned pieces, split vertically often affixed to the front of case furniture. |
Proportion
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Heavy – Sturdy, thick dimensions.(Chippendale style shown) |
Underbracing
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Heavy – Sturdy stretchers.(Jacobean style shown) |
Wood
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Ash – Whitish-gray American hardwood with similar graining to oak. |
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Birch – Red-brown American hardwood with a close grain. |
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Cherry – Red-brown American hardwood. |
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Elm – Red-brown American hardwood. |
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Fruitwood – Pink-brown American hardwood, including apple and pear. |
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Hickory – Red-brown American hardwood. |
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Maple – Golden to Red-brown American hardwood with a wide range of figures. |
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Oak – Gray-brown American hardwood. |
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Pine – Yellow to pink-brown American softwood. |
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Sycamore – Creamy-white European hardwood, treated to turn a silvery-gray or pink-brown color. |