Incollect Magazine - Issue 6

94 www.incollect.com Dietrich purchased the Lancaster County Windsor settee at auction from the estate of Stanley F. Todd of East Earl, Pennsylvania at Samuel T. Freeman’s & Co., Philadelphia (fig. 2). The acquisition of the settee reveals Dietrich’s inclination to trust his eye and intuition. Lancaster County settees are rare and were produced in much smaller numbers than Philadelphia settees. No finer Lancaster County settee and no other settees of this form have been published since the Todd sale. The Gordons represented Dietrich in his last Windsor purchase of 1966, a New York City child’s continuous-bow Windsor armchair (fig. 3). The continuous-bow design was introduced by New York City chairmakers in the late 1780s or early 1790s. 6 It was the first American Windsor design that had no European antecedents. Although not a product of southeastern Pennsylvania, the exceptional turnings, ornamented spindles, braced back, and brilliant proportional downsizing of an adult chair made it too captivating to Left, Fig. 3: Childs continuous-bow Windsor armchair, New York City, New York, 1785–1794. Yellow poplar, maple, hickory, oak. H. 25, W. 15, D. 14¾ in. Several adult Windsors labeled by the New York City chairmakers Thomas and William Ash have related spindle ornamentation. Photo by author. Right, Fig. 4: Windsor stand, Southeastern Pennsylvania, possibly Philadelphia, 1770–1800. Maple, conifer. H. 26½, W. 15¼ in. The legs are mortised through the turned and dished top and wedged. Photo by author. Fig. 5: High-back Windsor armchair by Thomas Gilpin (active 1752- 1767), Philadelphia, Penn., 1755–1760. Yellow poplar, hickory, oak, ash. H. 40¾, W. 22¾, D. 20½ in. Gilpin made high-back chairs in two sizes. This is the only smaller version known to survive. The height overall is more than four inches less than his full-size chairs and the seat is lower and narrower. Photo by Gavin Ashworth.