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Journal of Design History 2009 22(1):27-45; doi:10.1093/jdh/epn040
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© The Author [2009]. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Design History Society. All rights reserved.

The Social Rise of the Orkney Chair

Annette Carruthers

School of Art History, University of St Andrews

vac{at}st-andrews.ac.uk


  Abstract

In the 1890s, a new market was created for the Orkney straw-backed chair, which hitherto had been a vernacular product used largely in the homes of its makers on the Orkney Islands in the north of Scotland. This article discusses the standardization of the Orkney chair and its rapid acceptance into the houses of the British aristocracy and middle classes through the agency of the Scottish Home Industries Association. Within eleven years of its first display at an international exhibition the Orkney chair had inspired close copies and brand-new related designs made in the Netherlands by the Dutch firm of John Uiterwijk and Chris Wegerif. Its social rise was thus followed by geographical diffusion. This article also analyses the roles of the maker and of the promoter of an unusual item of furniture which has provided work for craftspeople in Orkney for over 100 years.

Key Words: Arts and Crafts Movement • furniture • International Exhibitions • the Netherlands • Scotland • vernacular revival


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