Armchair

The Kentucky Penitentiary in Frankfort, KY, established in 1798, was the first prison west of the Allegheny Mountains. By 1808, prisoners were engaged in trade skills, such as blacksmithing, coopering, tin smithing, and furniture making to offset the cost of incarceration. The earliest examples of the “continuous armchair” style, such as this chair, date to around 1810 and were made through the 1850s. Each chair presents unique features while also reflecting the distinct style of furniture common to prison workshops, and they follow cultural stylistic trends occurring outside the prison, though they are separate from what is being produced in the larger Frankfort furniture community. The rounded tablet crest and thin shaped slat echos European chairs of the same period, especially some found in Italy.
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