Presented at the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Annual Conference in Louisville, KY, on September 17, 2016. This was one of three papers delivered in the session. Fellow presenters, Dr. Christine Baron and Dr. Mindy Farmer, discussed more theoretical aspects of reading objects.

1. New Ways to Read Old
Objects
Ware Petznick, PhD
Executive Director
The Shaker Historical Society
Shaker Heights, OH
Shakerhistory.org
Learning new languages
The Shaker Historical Society is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga
County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

2. A Place to Sit
Phillipe Starck
Louis Ghost Chair
http://www.kartell.com/gb/small-armchair_cod20000112el.html
Louis XVI style
armchair

3. PRACTICALLY SPEAKING

4. CHAIRS

5. Shaker, Klismos, Carver, Office, Garden, Throne,
Caqueteuse, Lolling, Brander back…
We must have a
multidisciplinary
approach.

6. OBSERVATION
COMPARISON
PROVENANCE
CONTEXT
PERSPECTIVE
ASSOCIATION
PRESERVATION
AESTHETICS
FUNCTION
ORIGIN
USES
ANALYSIS
WHAT DOES IT SAY?

7. Every object holds different
meanings for different people, and
how we decode or translate the
many layers of meaning that an
object “says” varies depending on
culture, previous experience and
prior knowledge.
Old fashioned vsTimeless Comfortable then… but now?
CONTENT CONNECTIONS
Do windsor chairs evoke the coffee houses of
London, or the front porches of Southern
Plantation owners?

8. CONTEXT
Monroe County furniture maker, Mark Soukup,
of Gap Mills, was commissioned to make 32
Windsor Chairs for display and use at
Washington’s MountVernon on the Potomac…
in 2013.
Mountain Messenger, Jan 14, 2014.
http://mountainmessenger.com/commission-george-washingtons-mount-vernon/
Inventory
might
mislead
future
historians
who rely
solely on
documents

9. STRATIFICATION
18th century form with
ancient Egyptian technology
Functional use
Paint evidence/layers
Wear patterns
All this we could read if we
had more than a photo.We
need the object to read it.
In situ?
Disturbed?

10. Function
Phillipe Starck
Louis Ghost Chair
http://www.kartell.com/gb/small-armchair_cod20000112el.html
Windsor
Potty Chair
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/29075204_antique-windsor-potty-chair
10

11. ORIGINATION
An 18th Century Windsor
would have been a garden
chair, often painted to help
protect it from the elements.
Date
Place
Culture
Use…

12. Sources to add to your windsor
chair literacy… paintings &
gardens
The James Family
Arthur Devis (1712-1787),
Tate London
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arthur_Devis_13.jpg

13. INTERTECTONALITY
How does this modern
version, used for a teddy
bear, relate to other chairs?
Child’s Chair?
An Apprentice Piece?
Intended for doll’s?

14. Frame of Reference
RoyalWedding scene,
Stanley Donan director,

15. EMPATHETIC
insights/suppositions
Is it a part of the Colonial Revival spirit
that prompted early 20th century
immigrants to have windsor chairs and
spinning wheels in their homes – regardless
if it was a part of their heritage or not?
Is it old-fashioned?
Did the owner seek to simply coordinate
the chair to coordinate with her inherited
antiques?
Did the maker intend to deceive?
“Authentic Colonial America”
Auntie Mame,
Morton DeCosta Director, 1958.

16. Authenticity
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/sackbac
k-windsor-chair-kit.aspx
Wallace Nutting
label, 1915
http://t4ngo.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/12/Wallace-Nutting-
Furniture.jpg
Windsor Kit,
2015
The growth in popularity is proportional to the number of fakes, imitations and
reproductions

17. ANALOGOUS
MACROSTRUCTURE
Is it Patriotic to have a Windsor?
Does American avarice guide
its manufacture in China?
Would all races want a Windsor chair?
Was it the original “flat pack” a’ la IKEA?
SAMPLE QUESTIONS

18. The American Windsor
Cosby Show still, 1980s
Father of the Bride,
Charles Shyer, 1991

19. New technology and science can
help us read objects.
Siri doesn’t understand all accents.
We cannot learn all aspects of a
language now, hence needing to
preserve objects for future
interpretation when new technology
can help us “translate” elements of
objects we do not understand now.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/292-what-you-say-will-be-searched-why-recognition-systems-don-t-
recognize-accents-and-more-1.3211777/here-s-why-your-phone-can-t-understand-your-accent-
1.3222569
WHY DON’TYOU
UNDERSTAND ME?
Robert Burns Nursing Chair
with Plaque, Robert Burns
Birthplace Museum,
Scotland https://burnsmuseum.wordpress.com/2015/03/

20. SOURCES
Pattern Books Billheads/Catalogues Journals
Slideshare.net/staforlife

21. CONCLUSION Deduce,
Lewis, I only
deduce.