Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Rocker Mystery

What we have here is a Hunzinger platform rocker that appears to be in pristine condition.  It is a great piece from which to observe some of the finer details of Hunzingerness that can be found on many of his pieces.  One thing caught my eye though.  There is some sort of brace in the arm of the chair which I have not seen in any of his other chairs.  It appears to be a wooden brace with a metal rod inside the brace.  Could it have been added later to provide additional support to an old and "rickety" chair?



7 comments:

John W said...

Looks like a later addition to me. Not very appealing, either.

Unknown said...

I heartly agree. Perhaps something with the finish, or the upholstery, or something...

the Joshua Shively House Profile said...

This was certainly a later addition. I have seen it on a number of chairs before and I bet it was some sort of DIY kit - it always has that same grooved wood. Gotta give them credit for fitting it well, though, like it or not.

Roger said...

I disagree with the comments made about the construction of this rocker. I researched that style of chair using The Brooklyn Museum and the book by Barry Harwood. Also I own 3 of these chairs, and they all have the same brace. The book shows several more chairs, all with the same brace on pages 117 and 118. The clear photos show the brace and metal rod with nut. FYI, most comfortable Victorian man's rocker I own.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the information Roger! I love my Hunzinger rocker as well. I think that the rocker mechanism really creates a better "rock"!

Dallas mattress sale said...

Thanks roger! i was also one of them but you have changed my point.

Anonymous said...

I have 3 Hunzinger rockers ( 2 similar but different styles)---all of them have the brace.