Gothic Revival Hall Chair, ca. 1850
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GUEST:
Well, I got it from my father, who inherited it through his mother's family.
APPRAISER:
What do you know about the Gothic Revival?
GUEST:
Um, you know, just that I like it.
APPRASIER: Yes.
GUEST:
And I have two more hall chairs that are smaller and Gothic Revival.
APPRAISER:
It's interesting to me that the Gothic Revival is so strong in the South. You know, England almost went with the South during the Civil War, because of the economy. Cotton was very important to the culture there. Those were the economic reasons, but for the emotional reasons, the Gothic Revival, I think, tied the South to England more even than the North. It was an important style in architecture as well as furniture. The statehouse in Baton Rouge is in the Gothic Revival.
GUEST:
Right, yeah.
APPRAISER:
And yet it was in these great Greek Revival houses that they furnished them with the Gothic Revival. For example, we know that there are a cluster of these chairs that have turned up in plantation houses in Natchez, as well as in Vicksburg. We call these hall chairs because they had no upholstery, they lined the walls like sentinels, and…
GUEST:
And they're not very comfortable.
APPRAISER:
No. And foul-weather gear would be thrown on them often when the people returned.
GUEST:
Right. The seat raises up, so you can put things inside, which I do. I store stuff in there.
APPRASIER: We think this chair has a value-- because several have gone to museums recently: Los Angeles, Winterthur, Dallas, Milwaukee-- of about $25,000.
GUEST:
Goodness.
APPRAISER:
Thank you for bringing it in…
GUEST:
Well, thank you.
APPRASIER: …and sharing it with us.
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