History 344: Graded Assignment Two-Approaching an Artifact

Produced between 1760 and 1790, the American easy chair tells us about the living standards of the eighteenth-century America. Probably produced in Massachusetts, the chair, which is made of mahogany and maple with red maple and cotton damask, has a slightly tilted back, large curved side wings, and padded upholstery. It also has knees with carvings and ball-and-claw feet. The joineries are well-made, and the wooden legs are finely-polished. The chair, which is made to be comfortable and to ease pain, was primarily for the use of the elderly and infirm, but it was also used by women in labor or nursing mothers. Its specialized use demonstrates that the furniture-making industry was thriving in the eighteenth-century America. Also, its appearances and craftsmanship not only indicate that the furniture-maker was skillful, but they also reveal that people like the colonial elite were able to pursue amenities and to afford such fashionable luxuries.