As I was walking back to my dorm from the field house after track practice
today, I noticed a wooden object protruding out of the snow
(see picture below). Upon closer
inspection, I remembered that, only a few months back, before the snow, there
were Adirondack chairs sprawled across our various campus lawns. As, now more than ever, I am yearning for a
temperate spring day to sit outside on an Adirondack chair and do my homework,
I felt so inclined to share some thoughts on Adirondack chair.
Photo by Benjamin K. Cooper '18
I recently read a post on our blog from October by Ally
Kontra, who detailed her opinions on what qualifies an Adirondack chair as
authentic. Essentially, after working
through her thoughts on the authenticity of the special chairs, she concludes
that the most authentic are those handmade in the Adirondacks.
While I was reading her post, I became interested to learn
about the structure and history of these famed chairs. As evidenced by the name, the Adirondack
chair was created in Westport, New York.
Westport lies on the edge of the Adirondacks, on the eastern side of Lake
Champlain. However, within the town of
Westport, there is controversy as to who actually designed the Adirondack
chair. Although Harry Bunnell patented
the chair, according to a New York Times article, it was Thomas Lee’s original
design (Greenbaum, 2011).
Harry Bunnell’s patent describes the chair
in a technical, though, for a patent, uncharacteristically opinionated manner. Bunnell begins the patent by exclaiming, “Be
it known that I, Harry C. Bunnell… residing at Westport… have invented a new and
useful improvement in chairs” (Bunnell: US794777A). In incredible detail, as is
typically the case for a patent of an invention, the building and structure of
the chair is described. Bunnell concludes
with stating, “[f]rom the above description it is thought that the advantages
of this construction will be obvious.”
Having grown up sitting on the Adirondack chairs in my back
yard, I must admit, the advantages are “obvious.” There is something
intrinsically special about these chairs. The design is aesthetically unique,
and unusually comfortable for a stiff, wooden chair.
I look forward to spending the warmer spring days to come,
lounging on the campus’ Adirondack chairs, while appreciating their history and
comfort.
- Bunnell, Harry C. Chair. Patent US794777A. 18 July 1904. Print.
- Greenbaum, Hilary. "Who Made That Adirondack Chair?" Web log post. The 6th Floor. The New York Times, 28 June 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/who-made-that-adirondack-chair/?_r=0>.
- Kontra, Ally. "What Does It Mean to Be Authentic?" Web log post. ADK Forever Wild. Hamilton College, 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://adkforeverwild.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-does-it-mean-to-be-authentic.html>.
I really enjoyed reading this post. I feel as though it captured the longing for spring many of us are feeling, while giving a historical background to the chairs we have all seen around campus.
ReplyDeleteBen, it was interesting to read your post because I actually came across information on the Adirondack chair while doing research for the website project. I didn't know that's what the design was called, so it was neat to connect a concept and history to something I see all over campus. Even back home in Michigan, the chairs we put out on our deck during the warmer months are Adirondack chairs. Maybe they aren't authentic, but they're a piece of the Adirondacks found in my own backyard, which I think is pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteThis may not be the best forum to ask but, does anyone know where the giant Adirondack chairs come from? Also, why there are giant Adirondack Chairs? Obviously we don't have any on campus, but when I have gone up into the park and western Vermont, every town seems to have one or two. Maybe this trend and how they fit into the parks is worth a blogpost in and of itself but I really hope that I am not the only person that has seen these around.
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