What makes a sofa a chesterfield?

The term covers a deep-seated, roll-armed leather sofa with arms usually level with the back. On Sellingantiques it accounts for 146 of 294 titles, so it is the default form of the category. Buttoning often comes with it. Fifteen titles pair the two words directly as "buttoned chesterfield", though plenty of chesterfields are listed with no surface treatment named at all.

How old are these sofas?

The dated field runs from 1800 to 1960, with 178 of the 294 listings carrying a clean year. Where years are given they gather in the 1930s, 1920s and 1910s, then the 1880s, 1900s, 1890s and 1870s. Much of the rest is dated by reign or century. Forty-five listings say only "19th Century", thirty-nine only "Victorian" and sixteen "Edwardian", so nearly a third of the category carries no year.

Is the leather usually original or replaced?

Both turn up, and titles tend to say which. Some read "in Un-touched Original Leathers" or "Original un-restored Leather Chesterfield Sofa"; others read "RESTORED AND REUPHOLSTERED" or "fully restored in our hand dyed leathers". A few sit between the two, described as raw leather to be hand dyed to the buyer's chosen colour. That unfinished state appears only among the higher-priced samples.

What colours do these come in?

Brown leads where colour is named, at 21 titles, with green next at 12. Burgundy, olive, black, tan, chestnut, aubergine and amethyst each show up in the samples. Most listings say nothing about shade, so the photographs do that work rather than the title.

Why are Swedish leather sofas listed separately?

They form a distinct pocket of 23 titles, running as "Antique Swedish Leather Sofa" and "Antique Swedish Leather Chesterfield Sofa", and they sit entirely in the sold archive. The group also holds shapes found nowhere else in the samples: a Banana Sofa, a Bergere Sofa and a Fluted Back Sofa.

Which unusual forms turn up in this category?

Alongside the chesterfields, single oddities appear once each: a hooded porters sofa, a swivel conversational sofa, a corner sofa, a window seat, a bothy-type sofa and a slipper-style settee. One miniature apprentice three-piece suite also sits in the archive. Chaise longues are more regular at 17 titles, spelled both "longue" and "lounge" in roughly equal measure.

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Antique Leather Sofas

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A full-length leather-covered seat, from two-seater settees to very large three-seaters and corner forms, made for libraries, halls, clubs and offices where a wipeable hide seat took heavy use.