DOWNINGTOWN, PENN. – A near pair of Eighteenth Century Philadelphia combback Windsor armchairs sold for $79,950 in Pook & Pook, Inc’s January 28-29 sale. The circa 1765 examples differed only slightly in size, the auction house surmising that they were likely made that way for a husband and wife. The late Windsor chair scholar Charles Santore featured a similar example in his book, Windsor Style in America, and wrote a note to the prior owners of these chairs in 1994 that said, “Philadelphia combback Windsor armchairs of this quality and paint history are extremely rare. To find a pair of this quality is an extremely important occurrence.” The auction house noted that the paint with gilt highlighting was likely from the late Nineteenth Century.

Watch for a full review on this sale in a future issue.