What is a crinoline stretcher?

A curved hoop stretcher joining the front legs of a Windsor, named for the skirts it was shaped around. It's one of several Windsor features named in titles on Sellingantiques, alongside comb backs, hoop backs and broad arms.

Which timbers turn up most often?

Timber is stated more often than any other attribute in these listings. Walnut and oak lead the counts, followed by elm, yew, mahogany and ash. Ash and elm together are the standard Windsor combination. Yew is the timber that carries the top of the range, whether as yew or burr yew.

Are these chairs sold singly or in sets?

Both. Armchair leads the titles, but chairs and pair are close behind, so multiples are a regular part of the category. Sets run to six, eight, ten and twelve, and about a fifth of listings are high back dining chairs, mostly Edwardian to 1920s.

How old are most high back chairs listed?

The dated field runs from 1700 to 1940. Nineteenth Century and Victorian are the two commonest tags, with 18th Century, 17th Century and Edwardian behind them. Only a minority of listings carry a clean year, so a 19th Century label reads as a century-wide claim rather than a date.

What does broad arm mean on a Windsor?

A Windsor with unusually wide flat arms. Several titles single it out as a variant worth naming. The highest-priced lot in the sample was a set of eight burr yew broad arm high back Windsor armchairs.

Do unusual or foreign examples appear?

Non-British chairs are the exception. Dutch marquetry, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Breton, Anglo-Indian, Ceylonese and Burmese examples each appear once or twice across hundreds of titles. One-offs include a Windsor with snake-head carvings, a Philippine throne chair, a wicker porter's chair and an Orkney chair. Around 87 high back chairs are listed a year on Sellingantiques, spread across 222 different dealers.

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Antique High Back Chairs

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A tall-backed seat, made either as a stick-built country Windsor, an upholstered wing chair for the fireside, or a carved back-stool for hall and dining use.