ATTRIBUTED TO THE SHOP OF JOHN AND THOMAS SEYMOUR (W. 1804-1813), BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 1804-1810.

Masterfully executed, this chair is one of the most sophisticated designs produced in Boston in the early nineteenth century. The pattern for the back of this chair was first published in Thomas Sheraton, The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book (London, 1802), p.3, fig. 4. These chairs were made with an astonishing variety of options, including reeded stiles, and flared square front legs with veneered panels. This chair is one of three known examples with identical turned and reeded legs and stiles. The matching chairs are in the collection of Mrs. George M. Kaufman (fig. 1) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (fig. 2); see Robert D. Mussey, The Furniture Masterworks of John and Thomas Seymour (Salem, 2003), pp. 386-387, cat. no. 126 and Vernon C. Stoneman, John and Thomas Seymour, Cabinetmakers in Boston 1794-1816 (Boston, 1959), pl. 211.

Related examples exhibiting the various decorative options available can be found in such collections as the Mabel Brady Garven collection at Yale University (Patricia E. Kane, 300 Years of American Seating Furniture, Chairs and Beds from the Mabel Brady Garvan and other Collections at Yale University (Boston, 1976), cat. no. 154); Winterthur Museum (accession nos. 57.682 and 57.676 [a pair]); the Karolik Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (accession no. 41.610a and b); see also Mussey, pp. 388-389, cat. no. 127.