Cabinetmaker Samuel Gragg (1772–1855) from Boston made deliberate and innovative use of the pliability of wood by steaming for the construction of his Elastic Chair. The practice of bending wood in shipbuilding, carriage construction, and in the making of instruments already had a long-standing tradition at the time.
The design of the chair – Gragg was granted a US patent in 1808 – is inspired by seating furniture popular at the time, which evolved from the form of the antique Greek *klismos* chair. The Elastic Chair’s innovative feature is its construction of the curved seat shell from bent solid-wood elements instead of short pieces of wood connected by mortise-and-tenon joints. Every second element extends beyond the back of the seat’s frame and becomes part of the backrest. In the patent specifications, Gragg writes that his production method results in chairs that are not only lightweight and durable at the same time but are also highly comfortable due to the elasticity of their material and the fact that the backrest and seat are perfectly adapted to the shape of the human body.
Despite its references to antiquity – note the golden ornaments and the front legs ending in carved goat’s hooves –, Samuel Gragg’s production method was forward-looking: it anticipated a technique that Michael Thonet developed in Europe several decades later, independently of Gragg. Only when Thonet started selling his products overseas, however, did bentwood furniture become widely popular on the American market.
Text: Eva B. Ottillinger
