: The Hitchcock Chair Company, Ltd recently donated a portion of
its historical materials, dating back to the original owner,
Lambert Hitchcock, to the Connecticut Historical Society Museum
(CHSM).
The donation includes a selection of historically significant
chairs, a collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century
photographs, and a variety of manuscript items relating to the
residents of Hitchcockville - now Riverton - Conn. This
significant gift follows the recent closing of the company's
Hitchcock Museum.
In 1818, at the beginning of Hitchcock's career, chairmaking was
a time-consuming task. Each component of the chair was created by
hand, painstakingly, one piece at a time. By using the mass
pro-duction techniques perfected by other Connecticut craftsmen,
such as gunmakers and clockmakers, Lambert Hitchcock was able to
revolutionize the chairmaking industry. He efficiently produced a
variety of chairs and other forms, using such woods as maple,
birch and oak, in a sawmill at the confluence of the Farmington
and Still rivers.
In 1825, Hitchcock established the Hitchcock Chair Company and
elevated his craft even further by featuring fresh black
finishes, creating original seat back shapes, redesigning the
shape of arms and legs, and by implementing a stencil technique
that became a signature of his style. Under these circumstances,
Hitchcock was able to annually produce a staggering 15,000 chairs
while maintaining a coveted custom-made look.
The Hitchcock Chair Company's gift includes a pair of black
Hitchcock side chairs, as well as a green painted example and a
pair of brass stencils used to achieve Hitchcock's distinctive
decoration. Also donated were three side chairs from a nearby
competitor, the Union Chair Company.
The CHSM graphics collection acquired photos and aerial views of
the factory and surrounding area, as well as images of local
establishments and people. Among the papers and documents in the
gift are broadsides, manuscript account books and bills, as well
as letters and assorted paperwork.
"We firmly believe in the preservation of the legacy of Lambert
Hitchcock as well as the historic pieces we've accumulated and we
are disheartened at having to dissolve the museum," remarked
Ronald Coleman Jr, Hitchcock's president. He added, "We are
pleased to be donating a number of key items to the Connecticut
Historical Society Museum."
CHSM is among a group of institutions that received donations of
objects from the former Hitchcock Museum. The Connecticut
Antiquarian and Landmark's Society, the Unionville Museum, the
Barkhamsted Historical Society and the Windsor Historical Society
have also received historical materials appropriate to their
collections.
"The Hitchcock brand embodies Yankee ingenuity and craftsmanship.
Lambert Hitchcock's ability to serve a growing market by
introducing mass production to a traditional craft without
sacrificing quality is a historically significant development in
the evolution of furniture making in New England and throughout
the country," noted David M. Kahn, executive director of the CHS
Museum. "We are extremely grateful for this donation, which
enhances our current collection of material relating to
Connecticut's manufacturing history."
The donation of the furniture pieces in particular will offer
researchers an opportunity to examine the continuum of furniture
making in Connecticut, allowing for a comparative evaluation of
the hundreds of examples of furniture at the CHSM.
The Connecticut Historical Society Museum is at One Elizabeth
Street in Hartford's historic West End. Museum exhibition hours
are Tuesday-Sunday, noon to 5 pm. Admission is $6 for adults, $3
for seniors, students and youths 6-17, free for children under
six and CHS members. For information, 860-236-5621, or
www.chs.org.
