Antique English Victorian Mahogany & Distressed Green Leather Revolving Office Desk Chair (Circa 1880)

This is a stunning quality antique English Victorian mahogany desk chair, newly upholstered in a distressed green leather with a revolving mechanism, circa 1880, in excellent working condition.

Summary:

• Item: Victorian Mahogany Desk Chair
• Circa: 1880
• Period: Victorian
• Provenance: England, UK
• Wood: Solid mahogany
• Upholstered scroll shape bar-back
• Wraparound arms
• Bar shaped spindles
• Newly upholstered distressed green leather seat
• Traditional fillings
• Cleaned & serviced mechanism
• Splayed mahogany cabriole legs
• New solid brass & mug castors
• Rotates 360 degrees
• Extremely comfortable
• Excellent quality
• Stunning original patination & colour
• Free delivery to mainland England, Wales & southern Scotland*
• 14-day free UK returns policy

Description:

This is a stunning quality antique English Victorian mahogany desk chair, newly upholstered in a distressed green leather with a revolving mechanism, circa 1880, in excellent working condition.  This office chair is designed with a deep-buttoned upholstered curved scroll-shaped bar back.  The office chair frame is secured by wraparound upholstered arms, on shaped vertical back supports and shaped arm supports.  The desk chair seat has been newly upholstered with traditional materials, in top quality full-grain distressed green buttoned leather, to a professional standard.  The seat is firm enough that you do not sink into it, but at the same time is very comfortable.  The chair rotates 360 degrees. The chair was not designed to recline.  Victorian desk chairs did not feature recline or height adjustable mechanisms (this only became a function of Edwardian and later desk chairs).  The Victorian mahogany desk chair mechanism has been cleaned and serviced and is in good working order.  The office chair stands on splayed mahogany cabriole legs that terminate on new solid brass & mug castors.  This swivel office chair is very comfortable to sit on for long periods of time as it features an upholstered scroll-back and over-stuffed upholstered seat.

This Victorian mahogany desk chair displays a rich mahogany colour.  It boasts a fantastic colour and patination, which can only be achieved through age and years of care and cleaning it has received.

This swivel office chair would look superb in a variety of rooms in the home, from a traditional or contemporary setting, in either the home office or study.  This Victorian mahogany desk chair 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

Condition Report:

This is a stunning quality antique English Victorian mahogany desk chair, newly upholstered in a distressed green leather with a revolving mechanism, circa 1880, in excellent working condition.  The office chair frame has been cleaned and French polished to a professional standard in our workshop.  The seat has been newly upholstered in top quality full-grain distressed green buttoned leather, using traditional fillings and materials. The underside is finished with traditional hessian.  The revolving mechanism is in very good working order, having been stripped down, cleaned and serviced.  The revolving mechanism is designed with ball-bearings; therefore, it benefits from a very smooth movement.  The chair stands on solid mahogany legs that terminate on new solid brass & mug castors.  This swivel desk armchair is well constructed, solid in joint and ready to use.

Dimensions:

External Height = 91cm / 35⅞” / 3ft 1⅞”

External Width (Arms) = 62cm / 24⅜” / 2ft 0⅜”

External Depth = 55cm / 21⅝” / 1ft 9⅝”

Back Height = 44cm / 17¼” / 1ft 4¼”

Arm Height = 73.5cm / 29” / 2ft 5”

Seat Height (Centre) = 54cm / 21¼” / 1ft 9¼”

Seat Width (In-between Arms) = 49cm / 19¼” / 1ft 7¼”

Seat Depth = 50cm / 19⅝” / 1ft 7⅝”

Terms & Conditions:

Before purchasing this item, please ensure that you have read and agreed to our Terms & Conditions of Sale.  Furthermore, if you have any questions or concerns regarding these terms, we encourage you to contact us to discuss them in advance.

Product Code: 114914