The West Sat Here

The SAT

BY CHESTER Next time you see one of those rousing movie Westerns, look closely at the chairs you see around the tables in the barroom, on the porch of the town hotel, or in the Sheriff's office. Chances are close to 100 per cent they'll be the most popular chair ever used in the settling of the West-the "Douglas Office."

Then look sharply again today if you're ever in an old fire department station, barber shop, courtroom or lawyer's office in almost any Western town or city. There, odds are two to one, you will find the Douglas chair still on duty in its original design and construction going back to New England furniture factories in the '70's.

For of all chairs that found their way into the growing West from the productive East, the Douglas Office was most used, most cherished for its downright comfort, stability and general utility year in and year out. More remarkable, it is the only all-purpose chair that has survived in its initial form to these times of "television chairs."

Don't confuse the Douglas with the so-called "Captain's" chair. I did originally. Many Americana enthusiasts still do quite innocently. The difference between the two is truly tremendous. The accompanying illustrations show the identifying Douglas characteristics clearly: Douglas steam-bent armrests fit into holes at the front of either side of the seat, extend up almost vertically, then curve over to form a one-piece back support between which and the seat nine (and always nine!) spindles are fitted in a semi-circle. An extra backrest atop the curving armrest piece has another Douglas "trademark"-a slotted finger-hold for lifting the chair with one hand. The seat itself was most commonly a planked surface, formed for comfort to one's posterior. Sometimes the seat was of woven cane within a wood frame, or a piece of perforated plywood.

The true Douglas should typically have iron reinforcing rods at the top anchored in both armrests, piercing the seat and passing through the top leg rungs on each side of the chair. Here the rods are drawn up taut by nuts, thus creating a powerful force helping to hold together armrest and back, seat and leg assembly into a rigid unit. Side stress on the lower leg assembly is further met by holding the four legs and their rungs tightly together by iron rods all around, stretched under the lower rungs. The planked seat is reinforced crosswise by two internal iron rods.

The result is a haven for sitting, surprisingly comfortable, that for decades has outlasted the countless poker sessions, tipping to put all the strain on the back legs-and heaven only knows what other punishment, including being thrown as a missile in many a barroom brawl. Truly a remarkable chair, the Douglas Office.

Now the "Captain's" chair, commonly seen in reproductions today, resembles the Douglas only in that the armrests and backrest are supported by spindles to the seat. The armrests are not bent to extend down into the seat, and the leg and stretcher assembly is entirely different. If it's a Douglas you actually want, the Captain's chair just won't do.

Although the Douglas chair was once as common a sight as a coal oil lamp, it is regretfully disappearing from the scene. Collectors and others who want what they want prize their old Douglas specimens highly. Yet strangely enough, it is possible to secure brand-new Douglas chairs today. Of that, in a moment.

For those who would like to put new life into an old

West HERE

For those who would like to put new life into an old Douglas by dint of their own labor there is sweet reward. Recently Í rescued from dark oblivion a quite venerable one, falling apart and defiled by numerous layers of paint in varying hues. It was of course necessary to disassemble the chair completely, remove the ancient paint and soil of years, perform some plastic surgery, sand down, glue and reassemble . . . then finish the faithful ash to reveal its natural glory.

The operation yielded results beyond expectation. I know now that an ailing but sound Douglas will respond to thorough, devoted treatment by a practitioner who doesn't mind how much time the cure takes.

I have said that new Douglas chairs are available today. And they are little changed from the time when men sat in them to haggle over a buffalo hide deal. That is trueand mark it well. For you will search long for a similar commercial rarity.

The Douglas Office chair is being manufactured today in the only factory which has made the chair continuously at least since 1887. S. Bent & Brothers of Gardner, Massachu-setts, no doubt was producing the Douglas long prior to '87; but that was the first year they had a catalogue. In it the "Douglas Wood Office" and "Douglas Cane Office" were illustrated in woodcuts. Origin of why this chair was given the name Douglas is obscure. Indeed, Mr. Roderic L. Bent, who learned the chairmaking business from his father and today carries on the family tradition dating from 1867, does not know for certain how the Douglas chair came by its name. He has talked with pioneer chair men in Gardner, Westminster, South Ashburnham and Concord. The mystery remains unsolved. Perhaps you may know the answer.