Heart & Crown Great Chair, circa, 1720-1730
 
Heart & Crown Great Chair, circa, 1720-1730

This is a replica of a Heart & Crown armchair in the " Nutting Collection at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Ct. that I measured in 1978. My first. I've made several of this one, and other H&C armchairs and side chairs, over the years. It is shown as pl.#1933 in 'Furniture Treasury'. Rutland County, Vt.
The builder of the original is most likely Thomas Salmon of Stratford, Ct. Of particular note is the " Crown " crest of the chair, which is indicative of the broken scroll pedimented doorways in the Connecticut River Valley. As a Joyner ( and designer) he built the second Episcopal Church in Stratford, Ct., in 1748, and "may well be a principal source for the ' Connecticut River Valley' doorways so beloved of early architectural historians", according to Robert F. Trent, the author of" Hearts & Crowns".