What's the difference between a long stool and a window seat?

Often nothing. Several titles give both names to the same object, sometimes in the same line, and window seats account for under a tenth of the archive but a sixth of current stock. The same piece also turns up as a footstool, fender stool, hearth stool, fireside stool, bench or centre stool. At least eight names are in use across these titles.

Why is buttoned ticking mentioned so often?

It's the signature cover of the sold record. Twenty titles name ticking and seventeen of those pair it with buttoning. Many of those stools are described as newly upholstered, and several quote a 5ft or 6ft length. The look is a striped cotton or linen top drawn down with covered buttons.

How long are these stools?

Where titles state a length, they run from about 5ft or 152cm up to 6ft or 183cm. Most titles state no length at all, so the measured pieces are a minority rather than a standard.

Are there early oak examples?

A few titles claim joined oak of the 16th and 17th centuries, including one given as c.1580 and a Charles I stool of c.1640. They're isolated. The dealers' structured date field begins at 1800 and runs to 1930, so the bulk of the category sits in the 19th century and the early 20th.

Which woods turn up most?

Walnut leads, in around a fifth of titles, then mahogany in about a sixth and oak in roughly a tenth. Country examples bring in ash, elm and pine. Rosewood, burr walnut and giltwood appear less often and sit higher in the range.

How many come up for sale in a year?

Around sixteen long stools come to market on Sellingantiques annually. Seventy-seven different dealers have listed one, so almost nobody carries them as a speciality. They arrive one at a time, from all over.