Peterborough and other folding chairs

[Michael Grace]

Hello all - I'm wondering if anyone can identify a wooden folding canoe chair/seat. This one looks at a glance like a Peterborough, but it has significant differences from the Petes I have (see attached photos). The one in question has 4 slats on the back and 6 on the bottom; the Pete (it has an original decal) has 5 on the back and 5 on the bottom. The unknown one is somewhat larger than the Pete overall, and the bottom runners are ash as opposed to maple in the Pete. Both are copper clinch-nailed. I cannot find this one in any of my old catalogs.

Thanks for any insight,
Michael

 

[Dave Osborn]

It may have had everything to do with what size and type of scrap materials were available to make the seats.....or builders prerogative.

 

[Michael Grace]

It may have had everything to do with what size and type of scrap materials were available to make the seats.....or builders prerogative.

Yeah, maybe but... I haven't seen a huge number of these from Canadian builders, but every one I've seen labeled Peterborough was identical to the Peterborough example shown above. And I've seen tons of OT chairs and backrests (all the same) several of each of two types from the Willits Brothers (each type always the same), quite a few Morris/Kennebec chairs and backrests (all the same), and even a handful of Charles River-area builders' backrests - two distinct types, but otherwise the same. And all are what are pictured in catalogs. That said, early Peterborough catalogs show a very different style from either of those I posted above. Maybe this one is from a different era?

Anyway, good idea, Dave. I think it's unlikely that this was a factory-builder's freedom of expression, but it certainly could be.

M

 

[Mark Adams]

A copy by a craftsman, imitation of a Pete?

 

[Michael Grace]

A copy by a craftsman, imitation of a Pete?

Hi Mark,

I appreciate the thought. Even though I wondered the same thing, here's why I think not. I'm always skeptical about claims of dates and who made what, when there's no solid evidence ("this was the very first canoe ever made by XXX" or "this canoe was paddled up Niagara Falls by Teddy Roosevelt"). I know this is just a simple folding seat but I love these old accessories, so I'm curious. This one is made well and in the same manner as Peterborough folding seats. Given that many American builders offered similar but not identical accessories, and that Canadian canoe companies offered similar but not identical types of canoes, it stands to reason that Canadian builders would also offer similar but not identical accessories. So I wonder if this chair might be from English, Brown, Lakefield, Rice Lake or one of the others. I just can't find anything about such accessories that these other companies may have made. This isn't life-threatening or Nobel prize-worthy; I'm just curious and I'd like to be able to legitimately pair this historically with one of our Canadian canoes if possible. Again, thanks for the responses, Dave and Mark. Much appreciated.

Michael