The Man Behind Hitchcock Chairs
Having turned 23, Cheshire, CT born Lambert Hitchcock resigned from his position at Silas E. Cheney's (1776-1821) workshop in Litchfield, CT. Like other prosperous cabinetmakers of his day, Lambert's employer focused on high style "Federal Period" (1785-1825) furniture including dining room "sideboards" and hand-painted "fancy chairs" which he sold to wealthy clients including eminent jurist and teacher of law, Tapping Reeve (1744-1823), and esteemed bank president and former officer under George Washington, Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge (1757-1823).
Hitchcock left no diary. His portrait has not been identified on any painting. We do know that he was courageous and forward -thinking. Lambert traveled to Northwest CT and established a chair-making factory located at the junction of the Farmington and Still Rivers-slightly west of Lake Barkhamsted. The remote woodland offered plentiful hardwood, an existing sawmill, and water power. Its deficiency was its isolation. Impassable winter roads, no rail-line access, and scarce labor would fetter Hitchcock in later years.
Entering an already overcrowded field, the inventive young man decided he would produce beautiful fancy chairs like the type made at Cheney's and other chair-turners. However, his product would be unique in that it would be affordable to the average family. First, Hitchcock invented and produced knock-down chairs: unassembled kits with interchangeable parts that could be economically transported then put together by do-it-yourself purchasers. To spare expense on costly hand-painting or carving, Lambert took advantage of the new British technique in furniture design called "stenciling." Multi-colored metallic powders were applied to the still tacky varnish through as many as five different fruit and floral stencil designs. The concept worked. Orders for the $.49-$1.50 chairs came in from as far west as Chicago, IL and as far south as Charleston, SC.
By 1821, Lambert's town assumed his name, Hitchcocksville. (It's now called Riverton.) By 1825, Hitchcock had erected a handsome three-story brick factory complete with a dam and water-wheel- powered machinery. Thirty-eight years before Henry Ford was born, the firm pioneered mass-production techniques, turning out as many as 300 assembled "Sheraton" type fancy chairs per week. They also began producing rockers, settees, and an occasional case piece.
Most early Hitchcock furniture found today can be identified by inspecting the back of the seat or rocker rail for a variety of stencil signatures similar to the following: "L. Hitchcock, Hitchcocks-ville, Conn. Warranted." An a trademark will only be found on contemporary Hitchcock furniture. The caned, rushed, or planked seats will be rectilinear in shape. Front legs will be boldly ring-turned. The rear are often plain. Chair backs may be found in a variety of shapes including: roll-top, eagle-back, pillow-top, and cornucopia and turtle backs with roll tops. Stenciling is almost never found on the back-side of authentic Hitchcock furnishings. Occasionally, curled maple pieces were sold without painted decoration. Black is the common base paint. Authentic green, red, yellow, and other base paints command a premium price in the market today.
In 1929, Lambert Hitchcock's brother-in-law, Aba Alford (1807-1881) joined him as partner, saving the firm from bankruptcy. The firm made an unwise move (remaining isolated from railroad lines) to Unionville, CT in 1844. Hitchcock died insolvent in 1852.
Antique Hitchcock seating furniture carries little weight in the marketplace today-partly because it was intended for a smaller, lighter race of citizens. Collect it. Purchase early marked sets of chairs, rockers, and settees in excellent condition. Look for examples with inspired stencil decoration. One day, the work of Lambert Hitchcock will be appreciated not only for its functional design and intrinsic beauty, but as a product from one of America's pioneer industrialists. An uncommon man who made chairs for us common folk.
