What wood are music stools usually made from?

Mahogany leads, named in 60 of 190 titles, with walnut in 38 and rosewood in 27. Satinwood and birds eye maple show up towards the top of the range. Some are not the timber they resemble. Simulated and faux rosewood both appear in listings, as do ebonised and painted frames, and one sampled stool is papier mache with mahogany.

How does the height adjustment work?

Two systems dominate. A revolving top winds up and down on a central screw thread, and a rise-and-fall seat is raised on a mechanism without turning the seat itself. About a third of titles name the mechanism: adjustable in 33, revolving in 30. Dealers also write swivel top for a turning seat.

Are duet stools common?

One in seven titles says duet, making the two-seat bench the only regular alternative to the single revolving stool. Several are described as piano benches or window seats, and a number have hinged seats over a compartment. In the sampled range they sit above single stools.

Do music stools have storage inside?

Storage is a recurring hidden feature. Titles record music cabinet drawers, lockers, box seats, fall fronts and lifting lids. It's named in only a minority of listings, so a plain-looking seat may still lift or open.

Were these only made for pianos?

Piano is the word in 114 of 190 titles, but other instruments turn up. Sampled listings include harpist chairs, a brass cello stool, a chapel organist's stool and one offered for piano, harp or cello. Stools made for these other instruments are scarcer and sit at the upper end of the range.

What period do most of them date from?

The dated field runs 1800 to 1930, with eighty-one listings carrying a clean year. Victorian appears in 67 titles and English in 39. Where decades are given they cluster late, in the 1880s, 1890s and 1900s. A couple of Georgian or 18th-century labels and a couple of 1930 Art Deco pieces mark the outer edges.