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Page 18 The Antique Shoppe July, 2017 From the photos it appears that this is the case with your chair. I would
Questions & put your chair anywhere from 1850 to 1870. The chairs are generally

made of maple with pine seats and were traditionally painted black with
Common Sense Answers gold striping and floral stencils. Since yours was probably originally
painted black it may not strip well enough to get a good even stain on it.
According to Helen Comstock in her book "American Furniture",
with Fred Taylor published by Schiffer, the popularity and longevity of the Boston

rocker took it into more American homes than any other type of rocker.
With the restoration required for your chair the value is greatly
diminished as far as collectors go. After restoration it would sell
Q. Hi Fred - I have an old rocking chair with at auction in the $200 range. Thanks for writing and thanks for
an interesting design element that I'd like more the excellent photos.
information on. It has been in our family for some
time. It has no manufacturing markings that I could
see. The spindles are quite delicate and fine, and appear Q. I have what my grandmother called a "cigar stand." It has a
to have been shaped by hand. The seat has a raised back top and between the top and the cabinet beneath is a place with
section which I've never seen before. I've contracted with cut-out circles where, I assume, ashtrays were placed. It also
a refinisher to repair the broken leg and rocker, strip off has one metal holder that would seem to cradle a cigar. On
the black paint and stain. Any help with identifying it, and the bottom of the stand is a sticker with HT
possibly it's value would be greatly appreciated. Roy H. Cushman Mfg. Co. on it, and a box with the
letters "No" but I can't see any number if there
A. Roy - Your rocker is an example of the venerable Boston ever was one. Is there an HT Cushman Mfg.
rocker. It first appeared in New England in the early 1800s but no Co.? Thanks for any answer you may have for
one is quite sure why it was named after Boston. It is similar to a me. Kim L., West Monroe, LA.
Salem rocker with the exception of the shaped seat. A great many
of these chairs were made over the years and were in continuous A. Kim - Your piece was known generically as
production for most of the 19th century. Even Lambert Hitchcock a "smoking stand". Smoking stands originally
made some Boston rockers in his Connecticut factory. The were popular around the turn of the century
earliest forms of the Boston are identified by the single but fell back a bit around WWI. When the
board used in the seat. Later versions, after 1840, Depression hit the country in the late 1920s
generally used three boards in the seat, one for the furniture companies invented a lot of "novelty"
platform itself and one each for the front and rear rolls. This rocker with the distinctive shape of the seat Continued >
is called a Boston rocker.

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