Rung-skippers, green chairs

and Dutch paintings

I’m seeing a lot of rung-skippers these days. When I make a post-and-rung chair, I use 12 rungs. It’s how I learned and it’s what my mind pictures when I envision one of these chairs. I’m sure there’s room in the chairmaking world for rung-skippers - they might even outnumber the 12-rung crowd. I’ve even dabbled in rung-skipping when making reproductions of 17th century chairs based on English and/or New England examples. So for a time, I became a rung-skipper - omitting the middle rear rung. (this one below is hardly applicable, being so beastly heavy. But it’s the only one I can find a picture of - made about 1998 or so. No middle rear rung.)

Most, but probably not all, early chairs here used 11 rungs. And have survived just fine. When Jennie Alexander began making chairs she studied Shaker chairs as well as other turned chairs at Winterthur, particularly the Dominy shops’ chairs. Those usually skipped that middle rear rung. 

An Appalachian post & rung chair (now at Winterthur as a gift from Alexander) always had a prominent spot in JA’s house - probably acquired through Walter and Arval Woody in the mid-1970s.

NC chair, shot at JA’s house 2018

Bob Trent & I both feel that this chair was the skeleton she designed her chair around. She would often claim “not so.” But note its rear posts bend between the slats, not right above the seat like many chairs. It’s not the only “traditional” chair with that bend, but it’s not as common as a lower bend. It is more comfortable.

But this chair is also a rung-skipper - so Alexander might have taken some cues from it - but not the number of rungs. I’m not sure where she got the idea of using 12 rungs, but the notion was there very early on. Her first chairs were turned - like the museum chairs she was studying but for one thing - they included a middle rear rung. Below - one of JA’s first chairs. Turned, hickory. Fiber rush seat, before she knew about hickory bark. Godawful uncomfortable, but I kept it because it’s the beginning. 12 rungs.