John Henry Belter Chairs in New York and Melbourne.

John Henry Belter chair in its natural New York Home, and one in Melbourne.

This image of an interior C1852, comes form the Whitmore mansion formerly (demolished 1965) at 4-17 Twenty Seventh Avenue, Queens, New York, when it was a country villa.. The American Rococo Revival interior, roughly equivalent to our mid-Victorian period, shows a chair by the famous John Henry Belter in situ. At ther time, the style was called “Modern French”.

This spectacularly pierced and carved Rosewood chair, now in stock,  is probably John Henry Belter, New York. The style and manufacture are distinctive and characteristic. American, C1855. John Henry Belter (1804-1863) opened his first cabinetmaking shop at 40-1/2 Chatham St, New York, in 1844. His 5 storey manufactory, opened in 1850, was on 76th near 3rd Avenue. Apart form making intricately carved Rosewood furniture made of panels of solid Rosewood glued together, he developed an method of laminating Rosewood (plywood de luxe)  to provide even more intricate carving possibilities.

This OTT heavily pierced and carved chair is just what contemporary post-Minimal 2015 fashion loves. It is freshly upholstered in a black, white and yellow stripe with black velvet caterpiller double piping. Hipster compatable: no undecorated surface, authentic, natural materials, recycled, resonant material culture. (One of my favourite fabrics at present!)