Collins Library
Course Related Web Page
University of Puget Sound
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This page is intended for Puget Sound students enrolled in Theatre 217. It is a starting point for an assignment about chairs. For research help with the assignment, contact the Theatre department's liaison librarian, Lori Ricigliano. |
Table of Contents: Chair Assignment | Books | Web Sites | About the Designer
The parts of a chair consist of back, arms, seat, legs, and feet. The outer vertical posts of a chair are called uprights while the horizontal member running across the top of a chair back is a rail. Legs shaped like a flattened S are called cabriole. Legs may be connected by a horizontal brace called a stretcher. The upright central back piece in a chair is called a splat.
Chairs range from simple to elaborate. Apart from sitting, they may be used for dining, sleeping, rocking, playing, and other activities. They may indicate social position or status.
The style and design of a chair is determined by:
 | shape |
| proportion |
| detailing |
Although style names often refer to a period of history, they can also refer to a philosophy or to an influential designer, like Chippendale.
Design elements include:
| appearance - elegant? simple? |
| overall line - concave? convex? s-shaped? straight? |
| shape of seat, legs, back, foot, arms |
| proportion - sturdy? thick? moderate? |
| ornamentation and decorative motif - none? flowers? |
| material - wood? fabric? leather? plastic? |
For more information about terms or styles, check the web sites listed below.
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The chair report may include the following information: |
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There are a number of books on furniture in the library's collection. A selective listing appears below. Note: Reference books are shelved on the main floor.
TIP: To find out where a book is shelved, check the Library Location Chart.
| 1000 Chairs / NK 2715 F47 1997 Reference | Furniture Past & Present / NK 2270 B64 |
| American Seating Furniture / NK2715 F65 1988 | Furniture Treasury / NK2406 N73 1948 v.1-3 |
| The Antiques Directory of Furniture / NK2206 A57 1985 | Masterpieces of Furniture in Photographs and Measured Drawings / NK2260 .S3 |
| The Chair: Origins, Design & Social History / NK2715 G55 | The History of Furniture / NK2270 M64 1999 |
| Chairs through the Ages / NK2715 P6 1982 | Just Chairs / NK2715 B8413 2003 |
| The Complete Guide to Furniture Styles / NK 2270 B63 1997 | Masterpieces of furniture / NK2260 .S3 |
| The Country Life Book of Chairs / NK2715 J6 | The Modern Chair / TS886.5 C45 M38 1997 |
| Designer’s Guide to Furniture Styles / NK2235 C76 1999 | Modern Furniture, its Design and Construction / TS880 F314 |
| Elements of Style: An Encyclopedia / NA2850 E44 1996 REF | An Outline of the Home Furnishing Period / NK2235 O7 1941a |
| An Encyclopedia of Chairs / NK2715 Y38 1988 REF | A Social History of Furniture Design / NK2270 G55 |
| Encyclopedia of Furniture / NK2270 S3 | Sourcebook of Modern Furniture / NK2395 H34 2005 |
| Furniture Forum / NK2265 F8 v.24 | World Furniture / NK2270 H3 |
| Furniture of the Olden Time / NK 2240 M9 1936 |
| To find additional books in the library about furniture, search SIMON, the online catalog. Try the following subject headings. | |
| Chairs |
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| Chair Design | |
| Interior Decoration | |
| Furniture | |
| Seating Furniture | |
| Furniture History | |
| Furniture Making | |
There are a number of web sites devoted to furniture. A selective list appears below.
| Furniture Styles Essays, articles, and pictures on the history, development and enduring traditions of home furniture styles; includes information about designers |
| Chair Lecture by Michael Kroeger about the Breuer chair, Barcelona chair, Eames chair, and Saarinen chair |
| Furniture Styles- History with Photographs - includes brief descriptions of design elements along with in depth essays about major styles |
| Online Furniture Style Guide The style guide identifies and dates 19 furniture styles and their distinctive components. |
| History of Furniture Timeline A chart detailing dates, style & design influences, furniture period, and more. |
| Guide to Great Chair Design |
| Rocking Chairs Illustrated history of rocking chairs |
In addition to the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, Ask), you may also want to search the specialty image search engines or image collections on the web to find your chair.
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There are also licensed databases that provide access to images
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ARTstor, a repository of images gathered from museums and other collections |
| Oxford Art Online, has an option to search images only |
| Camio (Catalog of Art Museum Images Online) |
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Academic Search Premier Go to "more" then "images" |
Once you have identified your chair, you'll need to look for information about the designer. In addition to web sites, try the following sources.
| Oxford Art Online - provides biographies of artists and designers | ||||||||||||
| Books in our collection
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| Thames and Hudson encyclopaedia of 20th century design and designers / NK1390 .J85 1993 Reference | ||||||||||||
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Wilson Biographies Plus Illustrated - a database about well known
people, both living and dead |
Library | Research Gateway | SIMON | UPS
Content Contact: Lori
Ricigliano
Rev. 09.09
