Page 30 - 0718
P. 30
Page 30 The Antique Shoppe July, 2018
Has that old couch gotten a little of flat metal springs imbedded in
shaky, sinking in spots? Maybe that COMMON SENSE the frames below the cushions.
old chair has gotten lumpy and the Of course the practice was not
uncomfortable. What’s inside of ANTIQUES universal since not everybody could
recliner is getting to be downright
afford the new invention but the
these things anyway that allows idea of a strong support under the
them to get out of sorts? That By Fred Taylor cushion had a following and the
depends a great deal on when the idea persisted.
piece was made, the original quality By the early 19th century the
of the piece and when it was last SUPPORT STAFF concept of the coil spring arose in the
upholstered. Who’s In There? furniture trade a new era was begun.
Early upholstery was little more But there were problems. The springs
than skins draped across a board. Then initially were made of iron and had
someone added some padding, probably a very short life expectancy. The steel
just more skins or some moss and leaves, of the time was not much better except
and the idea was born of sewing all that it was too strong and not really
that material into a sack and making a springy enough. The other problem was
cushion. By the 16th century cushions the method used to secure the springs
made by specialized tradesmen called into the frame before being covered
“upholders” were filled with horsehair, up. The springs were attached to heavy
feathers, down and wool and the cushion linen straps on the bottom and the straps
fit into or onto the frames of chairs. were nailed to the lower frame. Then a
Comfort was regulated and adjusted by single strand of twine was used to secure
the addition or subtraction of the number the tops of the individual coil springs to
of cushions. the frame and to each other. The springs
But that wasn’t good enough for were covered with a thin flat sack made
Louis XV, King of France in the mid of more heavy linen filled with horsehair
18th century. His royalness demanded This section of a mid 19th century Empire foot stool shows or straw, cotton batting on top of that and
something more and he got it – in the form the newly patented bi-conical springs and several clumsy fabric on top of that.
attempts to correctly tie the sprigs together. Continued >
1
6 2
