Ladder back, spindle back and vasiform-splat chairs with thin wooden seats were made in the West Country during the 19th century. They are superficially similar to chairs made in the West Midlands tradition which also have thin wooden seats. However, they are different from these chairs in that the seat is morticed in round all edges, whereas the West Midlands varieties have round stretchers on the sides and back of the seat only and the seat panel is nailed to the front seat support. A spindle back version of this chair is illustrated in a painting by Thomas Faed, Cottage Interior. North Devon. 1842, published in the Regional Furniture Society Newsletter No.3 (Spring 1986)p.4.
Fishermen from the West Country who founded settlements in Newfoundland in the 18th and 19th centuries, took this chair design to that country too where similar examples are found.