Remember how excited we all were when these affordable folding camp chairs arrived on the market (once we got used to stuffing them back into their bags)? This blue one is particularly nice because it has a can holder that works most of the time. Now I’ve seen them with canopies and maybe once in a while with a kitchen sink. This isn’t the first portable seating solution to be on the market though. Wood folding chairs have been around for years…centuries actually.
Take this 15th century replica camp chair (also known as an X chair).
There is a brief moment or two as you arrive at a garage sale when you do a quick scan of the items being offered. I ignored this particular piece during my first pass and set to examine the table displays. Coming back around though this chair beckoned me and held my interest. If nothing else, I had to ask about it’s origin. A gentleman carrying his little dog wearing one of those awful, clumsy head cones came over to give me the details. In 14th-15th century Italy, these were royalty travel chairs. The ornate back piece is easily removable. Take off the pillow and the “X” folds up flat allowing for efficient transporting.
Look closer at the beautiful detail on the back piece. This replica was made around 1970. It was all hand carved and painted (according to the previous owner).
The back wasn’t what my son, Lo, zoomed in on. He was much more interested in the lion head at the end of each arm rest. Lo begged me to let him have it. "No!" Then he begged me to let him borrow it just one day. Why? Hasbro has a war game called Risk he and his friends play. “How cool would it be mom to sit in this chair and stroke the lion heads while conquering the world?” Too creepy for me...so the answer remains "No!"
As a side note, when researching this chair on line, I could not find a similar design. Even so the surfing re-sparked an interest in the Renaissance, particularly the incredible artistic talents of the era including da Vinci, Michelangelo, Giotto, Donatello, etc. I purchased Artists of the Renaissance by Irene Earls which discusses their lives and famous works. This, my friends, is what garage sailing is all about!
As a side note, when researching this chair on line, I could not find a similar design. Even so the surfing re-sparked an interest in the Renaissance, particularly the incredible artistic talents of the era including da Vinci, Michelangelo, Giotto, Donatello, etc. I purchased Artists of the Renaissance by Irene Earls which discusses their lives and famous works. This, my friends, is what garage sailing is all about!
