Woodworker: Daniel H. Phillips

Phillips, a North Bennett Street School student, adapted a drawing from Thomas Sheraton’s The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing-Book for the design of this chair. The original was drawn without arms and with turned legs. For this version, Phillips made the back splats as bent laminations with scratched beads. The arms are joined to the arm posts with a dowel, and the arm posts are joined to the seat rail with a sliding dovetail. Phillips caned the seat and then finished the mahogany, crotch mahogany, holly, and ash chair with super-blonde shellac, a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and turpentine, and wax.

Photo: Lance Patterson