Summary:

• Item: Office Tub chair
• Circa: 1910
• Period: Edwardian
• Provenance: England, UK
• Wood: Solid oak
• Height adjustable
• Rotates 360 degrees
• Reclining function
• Curved “tub-shape” oak frame
• Professionally French polished by hand
• Newly upholstered in sage green leather
• Hand tacked brass stud seat
• Cleaned & serviced mechanism
• Splayed oak legs
• New solid brass castors
• Very comfortable
• Lovely mellow colour
• Excellent working condition
• Free delivery to mainland England, Wales & southern Scotland*
• 14-day free UK returns policy

Description:

A fine quality antique English Edwardian solid oak revolving office tub chair, incorporating a reclining & height adjustable mechanism, newly upholstered in sage green leather, circa 1910, in excellent condition.

This style of office chair was also known as a ‘tub chair’.   The desk chair features a comfortable curved “tub-shaped” wrap-around oak frame, constructed with mortice and tenon joints, finished with oak pegged dowels.  Featuring a shaped and sloping top rail, the arms terminated on scroll-ends.

The office chair seat has been newly upholstered, to a professional standard, in top quality full-grain sage green leather, which has been finished with hand-tacked brass studs to the perimeter.  The seat incorporates a newly upholstered deep-buttoned seat, upholstered with traditional fillings and finished with hessian to the underside.

The chair incorporates a revolving mechanism and it rotates 360 degrees; the seat height can be adjusted by turning a domed metal screw on the underside of the chair.  The office chair also features a reclining mechanism; the recline tension can be adjusted by turning the large tap-head wheel underneath the chair.  The chair sits on four splayed solid oak legs that terminate on new solid brass castors.

The office tub chair frame has been cleaned and French polished by hand, to a professional standard, in our workshop.  The swivel chair mechanism has also been cleaned, restored and serviced and is in good working order. The chair frame is sturdy and the item is extremely comfortable to sit on, as it features a lovely padded seat.

The office tub chair displays a mellow oak colour.  It has a lovely colour and patination; this can only be achieved through age and years of care and cleaning it has received.

This Edwardian swivel desk chair would look superb in a variety of rooms in the home or in the office; in either a traditional or contemporary setting, especially as it is so comfortable.  This item would certainly grace any home.

History of the Office Chair:

An office chair, or desk chair, is a type of chair that is designed for use at a desk in an office. It is usually a swivel chair, with a set of wheels for mobility and adjustable height. Modern office chairs typically use a single, distinctive load bearing leg (often called a gas lift), which is positioned underneath the chair seat. Near the floor this leg spreads out into several smaller feet, which are often wheeled and called casters.

Before the nineteenth century, most of the global workforce was employed in agrarian labour—an “office chair” was only relevant for the wealthy, government officials and academics. In fact, Charles Darwin is the earliest known adopter of a proto-office chair, grafting wheels onto a normal chair in the 1840s so he could swivel between specimens. It goes without saying that this was a fairly uncommon use case.

Then came the railroad, the advent of manufacturing, and the Industrial Revolution. As the traditional model of labour was upended, more administrative workers were needed for logistical coordination and bookkeeping, and the concept of general and administrative workers was born. Businesses empowered by rail access in scaling and expanding to new markets employed more and more people—creating a cadre of middle managers.

This was the first time in history that productivity accrued on a mass scale from people sitting indoors. As white-collar workers became a crucial economic resource for the first time, their bosses began to recognize the value of making them comfortable.

The “Centripetal Office Chair”, designed by the inventor Thomas Warren and launched by the American Chair Company in 1851 at the Great Exhibition in London.  An example of this office chair now sits in the Brooklyn Museum.

Office chairs were developed around the mid-19th century onwards, as more workers spent their shifts sitting at a desk, leading to the adoption of several features not found on other chairs.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_chair

Source: https://www.branchfurniture.com/blogs/turn-key/the-history-of-the-modern-office-chair#:~:text=Mid%2D1800s%3A%20Victorian%20Design,sits%20in%20the%20Brooklyn%20Museum

Dimensions:

The following information provides dimensions on when the chair height is lowered and also raised to its highest setting using by adjusting the central steel rod:

External Height (Lowered) = 95cm / 37⅜” / 3ft 1⅝”

External Height (Raised) = 82.5cm / 32½” / 2ft 8½”

External Width (Feet) = 65.5cm / 25¾” / 2ft 1¾”

External Depth = 53cm / 20⅞” / 1ft 8⅞”

Back Height (from Seat) = 37cm / 14½” / 1ft 2½”

Arm Height (Lowered) = 73cm / 28¾” / 2ft 4¾”

Arm Height (Raised) = 85cm / 33½” / 2ft 9½”

Seat Height (Lowered) = 49.5cm / 19½” / 1ft 7½”

Seat Height (Raised) = 61cm / 24” / 2ft

Seat Width (Inside Arms) = 43cm / 17” / 1ft 5”

Seat Width (Outside Arms) = 52.5cm / 20¾” / 1ft 8¾”

Seat Depth = 45cm / 17¾” / 1ft 5¾”

Condition Report:

A fine quality antique English Edwardian solid oak revolving office tub chair, incorporating a reclining & height adjustable mechanism, newly upholstered in sage green leather, circa 1910, in excellent condition.   The oak chair frame has been cleaned and French polished, by hand, to a professional standard, in our workshop.  Nominal old use marks to the leading edges of the oak chair frame, but nothing significant considering the age of the item.  The office chair seat has been newly upholstered, to a professional standard, in top quality full-grain sage green leather, which has been finished with hand-tacked brass studs to the perimeter.  The adjustable height mechanism is in good working order, having been cleaned, restored and serviced.  The adjustable recline function also works.  There is some play to the mechanism but this is perfectly acceptable, and in line with the age of the chair.  The chair sits on four splayed solid oak legs that terminate on new solid brass castors. This item is solid in joint and ready to use.

Terms & Conditions:

Before you purchase this item, please ensure you have read and are in agreement with our Terms & Conditions of Sale. If you have any questions regarding our Terms & Conditions of Sale, please contact us to discuss them, before purchasing this item.

Ref. 113158