Windsor chairs have a quiet dignity all their own. Few chair designs being made today can compare with their enduring charm. Add to that, authentic colors and meticulous craftsmanship, and you have a piece of furniture that would be difficult to surpass.

Legend says that George I of England saw a simple wooden chair in a rustic home and was so intrigued with it that he had several made. It later became the most popular furniture form in America during the 18th and 19th centuries, and is now becoming sought after again.

Antique Windsor have survived in good shape as a result of the was they are constructed. Craftsman Robert A. Dluzen faithfully adheres to the methods of the early chairmakers, constructing an open, delicate looking chair that belies its resilient nature.

Using woods chosen for their natural characteristics that suit the individual parts of the chair, the chairmaker uses red oak or hickory which have the flexibility and strength needed for the back bow, arm bow, and back spindles. Riven out of a log, they are thinned with a drawknife and spoke shave to the desired width. The back and arm are steamed and bent into the bow shape in wooden forms.

The legs, rungs and arm posts are turned on a lathe and therefore need to be made from a closed grain wood such as birch, cherry, or maple that takes on a smooth surface.

The hand contoured seats are milled from large logs of pine or poplar; easily worked woods that shrink little and do not crack. The raw planks are then scooped out with an adz and further shaped with a scorp and travisher.

The parts are assembled using glued tenons and fox wedges, just as famous chairmaker E. B. Tracy did 200 years ago.

To put the authentic finishing touch on these Windsors, they are painted with real milk paint that uses lime, milk, clay, and earth pigments such as ochre, umber, iron oxide, and lampblack. They are then given a protective hand-rubbed finish of linseed oil and turpentine. A clear finish of just oil and turpentine can be applied to show the beautiful grain of the different woods.

The result is a functional yet simply elegant piece of classic furniture made with patience and tradition that is attuned to an historic past.

-Robert A. Dluzen