DESIGNED BY GEORGE HUNZINGER, LATE 19TH CENTURY

The German cabinet maker who emigrated to America in the 1850s, George Hunzinger established himself as 'Manufacturer of Patent Folding, Reclining and Extension Chairs' by 1867. Huntzinger went to great lengths to protect his designs by patent in the competitive contemporary furniture market. His use of of metal strips covered with threads wound or braided rather than caned was to 'ensure great strenth and beauty'. This particular patent went so far as to cover even the grooves into which the strips were laid and the method by which these were secured to the frame. Turned elements were frequently incorporated as an 'ornamental, but not expensive' form of decoration.