Sack Back Windsor Chair Demo At

Historical Society Open House

At Newtown Historical Society’s next open house and living history demonstration, master chairmaker David Douyard will demonstrate show how a sack back Windsor chair was made in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The historical society’s Matthew Curtiss House will be open for this program on Sunday, May 15, from 1 to 4 pm. Admission is free.

In The Windsor Style in America, author Charles Santore calls the Windsor form “the most characteristically American furniture style to emerge from the 18th Century.” He goes on to call Windsors “a democratic style that appealed to and was used by all levels of American society.”

George Washington had several Windsor chairs at Mount Vernon; Benjamin Franklin was also fond of Windsors and owned several; and Thomas Jefferson is believed to have penned The Declaration of Independence while sitting in a Windsor chair.

Mr Douyard’s chair making presentation will consist of live demonstrations using traditional hand tools and constructions methods including log riving (a technique for splitting a log into workable pieces for spindles), spindle and bow making, and steam bending.

Seat shaping, which he will also demonstrate, involves flatting the seat, forming the profile, and carving out the seat with adze, scorp, compass plane and travisher.

“Legging up” – the process of attaching the legs to the seat – and building the upper by installing the spindles and bows will also be shown and discussed.

A special exhibit will display samples of the various types of wood used in the construction of Windsor chairs; regional patterns that distinguish New York, Philadelphia and New England styling differences through the shapes of the turned legs and carved hands; a layout of the traditional tools a typical chairmaker would use; several styles of Windsor chairs; samples of the colors that were used in the 18th Century; and chairs in various stages of construction.

Over 20 years of specialization in American reproductions and interpretations plus extensive experience in antique furniture repair and restoration influence the operation of David Douyard’s one man furniture shop in Newton.

His interest in furniture-making began in childhood while watching his grandfather work in his shop. After graduating from Western Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1980, Mr Douyard started designing and building furniture both full and part-time. He is a member of The American Furniture Society.

Mr Douyard obtained his status as Master Chairmaker from the Windsor Institute in Hampton, N.H., and has been trained by the well known furniture-maker, designer and woodworking author Ian Kirby at Palomar College in San Diego, Calif.

The Matthew Curtiss House, which serves as headquarters for Newtown Historical Society, is at 44 Main Street (Route 25) in Newtown. Visitors will be welcome to tour the circa 1750 house during Sunday’s open house event. This event is free and open to the public.

For additional information call 426-5937.