Brewster Chair
Encyclopedia
A Brewster Chair is a rare style of chair
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
made in mid-17th century ("Pilgrim Century") New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
Origin
The "Brewster Chair" was named after Willam BrewsterWilliam Brewster (Pilgrim)
Elder William Brewster was a Mayflower passenger and a Pilgrim colonist leader and preacher.-Origins:Brewster was probably born at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, circa 1566/1567, although no birth records have been found, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1644 around 9- or 10pm...
, one of the Pilgrim fathers who landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. In 1830 the Brewster family of Duxbury donated Elder Brewster's original chair to Pilgrim Hall Museum
Pilgrim Hall Museum
The Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts is the oldest public museum in the United States in continuous operation, having opened in 1824.-History:...
in Plymouth, where it remains today. His chair was created in New England between 1630 and 1660. Other similar New England chairs from the 17th century have been named after this piece.
In the 1970s, Rhode Island sculptor, Armand LaMontagne
Armand LaMontagne
Armand LaMontagne ranks as one of America's pre-eminent sculptors of celebrated personalities.-Education:LaMontagne is a graduate of Worcester Academy and Boston College. He is a self-taught artist who has honed his skills through practicing his profession.-Body of work:He is best recognized for...
, produced a notorious fake Brewster Chair that fooled the national experts at the Henry Ford Museum, which acquired the piece.