Maintaining fragments of historic upholstery in place on a frame can be a challenge. But without objects with surviving original upholstery, scholars would be hard pressed to understand the materials and techniques that were used in the period or be able to accurately reproduce the upholstery missing on other chairs.

This New York lolling chair c. 1780 in the collection of the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum in Washington DC had survived with its original 18th century upholstery foundation intact on the back and a portion of the original on the seat. An inscription on the back had also survived and the desire was to have it remain accessible, even when the chair was on display.

By carefully stabilizing the original materials in place with sewing and lining techniques and installing the missing layers of the foundations to the arms and seat with traditional horse hair stuffing, we were able to apply period appropriate foundations and finish details like the hand tied tufts to the chair and keep the original components safe for decades to come.