How often do sets of twelve come up?

About eight a year come to market on Sellingantiques, spread across 43 different dealers. That spread tells you something. Most dealers who handle them have offered one set and no more.

Does a set of twelve always mean twelve chairs?

Not always. Several sampled sets are written as 10+2, one as 12/10, and the arrangement of ten side chairs with two carvers is the standard way twelve was made. Two sets in the samples are fourteen chairs, offered as twelve plus two.

What timber are they usually made from?

Mahogany leads by a distance, named in 45 of 98 titles. Oak comes second at 13. Walnut, ash and elm, pine, satin birch, cherry and pitch pine show up in ones and twos. Satin walnut, Austrian cherry, Scottish pine and bleached oak each appear once or twice.

Which back shapes turn up most?

A back shape qualifies 31 of the titles. Balloon back is the single commonest, at thirteen titles. After that come ladder, shield, spindle, stick and hoop, bar, spoon and ribbon backs, each tied to a particular pattern or region.

Are there sets that aren't for dining?

A few, and they are the rarest thing here. Chapel chairs, Masonic chairs, scholars' chairs and smokers bows each appear once in the samples. Everything else is dining seating, with "dining" in 84 of the 98 titles.

Do Continental sets appear?

They do, as a small minority against the titles that call themselves English. The samples turn up a Napoleon III French set, a Louis XV style French set, Austrian cherry and a Viennese bentwood set.