Nothing Fancy: The Complex Story of the Shaker Chairs

The Shaker chair is a truly remarkable example of historic furniture design, rooted in a philosophy that valued utility, order and restraint. As an admirer of Shaker furniture, I have often been surprised by how little its qualities are known beyond design-history circles. These seemingly simple chairs reveal a complex story of craftsmanship, standardization and branding.

The ladder-back chair was already a familiar form in America by the seventeenth century, so the Shakers did not reinvent it, they refined it. Over time, the chairs became lighter, more durable, better balanced and more carefully proportioned.

Peg rail out of wood and iron, 1890. On the left side you see a rug beater. National Gallery of Victoria.

Initially, these chairs were made predominantly for the communities themselves and could be adapted to individual needs. Order was integral to Shaker interiors: side chairs could be hung upside down from continuous wooden peg rails when not in use, reducing clutter and leaving the floor clear for cleaning. In Shaker culture, cleanliness and spiritual order were closely connected, reflected in the saying attributed to Mother Ann Lee: “There is no dirt in heaven.”

The principles of order and efficiency extended beyond the interior and also shaped the way furniture was produced. Shaker communities organised work cooperatively and readily adopted machinery when it could save labour and leave more time for religious life. Repeatable forms and models were more efficient to produce. Standardization was therefore already embedded in Shaker working practice before it became a means of commercial production.

Shaker carpenters and masons believed that they were working with heavenly blueprints
Chris Jennings, Paradise Now

By the mid 19th century, chairmaking was developing into a commercial enterprise. The decisive transformation came under Robert M. Wagan (1833–1883). In 1872, The Shaker periodical reported: “Mt. Lebanon is alive to many new things. The South Family is building an extensive chair factory, with tenant houses attached. A thousand-dollar engine from Haskell’s Albany works is to drive the machinery.” The steam engine and standardized components gradually transformed the individually made chair into a reproducible commercial product.

The so called Production chairs (for the worldly world) were offered in eight sizes, numbered 0 to 7: No. 0 represented the smallest child’s chair and No. 7 the largest adult chair. The size number was typically stamped on the back of the upper slat.

Community Chair and Brother’s Chair, c. 1852. Canterbury, New Hampshire, and Mount Lebanon, New York. Made from birch and maple with woven cane seats. SFO Museum

But size was only one variable. Customers could choose straight chairs or rockers, with or without arms, shawl rails and different backs. The number of slats varied according to type: dining and work chairs typically had two, side chairs three, and armchairs three to five. Finials provided another distinction, with individual Shaker communities developing characteristic shapes that can sometimes help identify a chair’s place of origin.

Shaker Chair Finials and Ball & Socket Foot by artist Ray Holden, c. 1936; watercolor and graphite on paper. Source nga.gov

Another innovation: Right at the bottom of the illustration, you can see the rear leg fitted with a tilter, a Shaker innovation patented in 1852 that allowed the chair to be tilted backward without damaging either the chair or the floor. These small, ball-shaped wooden inserts were attached with leather thongs and helped protect meetinghouse floors during long worship services.

Materials added further variety. Seats were made from splint, woven straw, cane or leather; From the 1830s, coloured wool tape produced on looms within Shaker communities was woven into different patterns for chair seats. Later production chairs also used cotton webbing in numerous colours and weaves.

Shaker Textile Sample, 1940. Artist Harold Weisenborn, watercolor and gouache on paperboard. Via National Gallery of Art

Finishes ranged from mahogany and ebony to cherry and natural wood. These were not static products: chairs were maintained, repaired, refinished and re-seated, with worn materials replaced to keep them in use. From a limited vocabulary of standardized elements, the Shakers created a diverse portfolio of products.

Sister Sarah Collins weaving a seat for a chair, Mount Lebanon, New York, c. 1935–36. Collection of Hancock Shaker Village. Photograph: Noel Vincentin

Front and back cover of the illustrated Cataloge of Shaker Chairs, ca. 1880. Hancock Shaker Village, Pittfield.

Wagan also changed how the chairs were marketed. In 1874 he published the first bound illustrated chair catalogue, presenting the available types and styles to customers, many were to follow.

The work is of the very best
And it is known that
They’re useful. 
Two grand principles combined.  
You may search the whole world over,
Nor better chairs you’ll find. 
Then their sofas and their footrests
 Are the best the world can give; 
Do not try to find their equal,
 For you cannot while you live.
Promotional Poem published 1895

Commercial success brought imitations, and the Shakers experimented with imprinted marks, decals, gold-lettered labels and trademarks to identify genuine Mount Lebanon products. Surviving variations suggest that they were still developing a practical trademark. Individual makers remained largely anonymous; instead, Shaker (or Shaker’s) itself became a mark of origin and quality.

This new commercial attitude was visible at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, where the South Family exhibited its chairs. Wagan combined chair illustrations with information about Shaker history, music and beliefs in their promotional material. A Shaker commentator noted with some amusement that visitors could hardly see the chairs without also learning about Shakerism. This was a remarkable shift for a culture that placed little emphasis on individual authorship. Furniture was generally associated with a community or workshop rather than promoted under the name of its maker.

I almost expect to be remembered as a chair or a table.
Sister Mildred Barker (1897–1990)

Production continued after Wagan’s death in 1883, but declining membership eventually affected the chair industry. A remarkable figure from this final period was Sister Lillian Barlow (1876–1942). Although chairmaking had traditionally been men’s work, she went on to manage the Mt. Lebanon Woodworking Co. together with Brother William Perkins. Their workshop produced furniture, developed patterns and models, created woodcarvings and restored antiques. Following a factory fire in 1923, production resumed on a smaller scale and continued until around 1940.

Lillian Barlow at her workstation in the 1930s.

By the time production ended around 1940, the Shaker design had.begun another life. Artists, architects and designers discovered in Shaker objects qualities that resonated strongly with twentieth-century modernism. Designer Isamu Noguchi took inspiration, the abstractionist Ellsworth Kelly had a furniture collection, and the artist Charles Sheeler documented from 1927–1931 Shaker interiors and objects beautifully in paintings and photographs.

The artist Charles Sheeler (1883–1965) repeatedly photographed and painted the Shaker communities of Hancock and Mount Lebanon.

The Shaker chair has stood the test of time and continues to meet our aesthetic expectations today. Its influence extends far beyond furniture itself. Original Shaker objects continue to appear in contemporary exhibitions, such as the 2017 presentation at the Toronto design store Mjölk, while Raf Simons reinterpreted the traditional peg rail for Kvadrat as a modular storage system for contemporary interiors in 2022.

Reimagined: In 2022, designer Raf Simons created a “Shaker wall moulding” for the Danish manufacturer Kvadrat. Photo Philip Messmann

The dialogue continues. More than two centuries later, the principles of utility and simplicity still resonate with contemporary design – perhaps the clearest indication that the Shakers created something truly timeless.

CONTEXT AND CONNECTIONS

Designer

The Shaker religion and communal way of life was brought to America from Manchester, England, in 1774 by Ann Lee and seven of her followers. The Shakers flourished in the United States during the 19th century. At their peak, more than 6,000 members lived in communities from Maine to Kentucky. Rather than celebrating individual designers, Shaker objects were products of the community and its shared values.