New Life for a Badlam Side ChairMark Arnold

The rehabilitation of a Stephen Badlam shield back side chair is described relative to other examples of the cabinet maker's work.

consider chairs to be among the most difficult pieces to make, not for their complex joinery, but due to their intended

use. A chair, while supporting the entire weight of the human body, is subject to forces that most other furniture forms do not undergo. In addition, materials were often used sparingly on the most refined examples, especially those of the Federal period.

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Running a small custom furniture shop, I can usually count on every job being unique. Interspersed between the more mundane tasks of woodworking there are moments that truly pique my interest. One of the more challenging projects I have done involved working on a side chair that had been purchased at auction despite its obvious need for repair work. The chair's new owner was not discouraged, however, because his chair bore the stamp of its maker, S BADLAM.

THE CABINET MAKER

Stephen Badlam (1751-1815) was born in Stoughton, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the Continental Army in 1775 and saw action on July 4, 1776 near Fort Ticonderoga. He served with distinction and received several promotions until a serious illness forced his resignation as major. He and his wife settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and in 1777 he opened a cabinet shop advertising the following:

Mahogany, Desks, Tables, Bureaus, Chairs, Bedsteads, and Cabinet Work of various Kinds made and sold on reasonable terms, by Stephen Badlam, of Dorchester near Milton Bridge, when any person may be supplied with good work for shipping and other use, and have it delivered at any Place required.1

1Stephen Badlam 1751-1815.(2003, August 15). Retrieved October 26, 2005, from http://www.dorchesteratheneum.org/page.php?id=41

Locally, Badlam became known as a supplier of looking glasses, a specialty that his son would later continue. He is known to have done casework for clockmaker Simon Willard in nearby Roxbury, and he also built furniture for the Derby family of Salem, Massachusetts. Perhaps the best-known piece attributed to Badlam is a chest on chest he built for Elias Hasket Derby in 1791. This piece is

now in the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery. It is a typical Chippendale serpentine chest with canted corners, noteworthy for its synthesis of neoclassical elements such as columns and broken pediment surmounted by three carved allegorical figures.2 The canted corners of the lower chest are carved with nearly identical details found on the tapered legs of the side chair discussed here. Stylized vine and foliage carving, emanating from an initial daisy, cascade approximately one-half of the way down the leg and terminate in stop fluting which continues down to the foot. (Fig. 2) This floral motif has been the basis for attributing authorship to Badlam on at least one unsigned piece.3

Although the carving on the corners of the Derby chest is similar to that found on the Badlam side chairs, the carving of the figures on the chest's pediment are attributed to the Boston carver, Simeon Skillin, and not to Badlam himself. 4

For the splat design of his shield backs, Badlam may have been influenced by the English furniture

2 Sack, A. (1993). The new fine points of furniture: Early american (p. 126). New York: Crown Publishers, Inc.3 Winchester, A. (Ed.). (1959). The antiques treasury of furniture and other decorative arts (p.170). New York: E.P.Dutton & Co.4 Sack, A. (1993). The new fine points of furniture: Early american (p. 126). New York: Crown Publishers, Inc.

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Fig. 2 Leg Detail

making firm of Gillows of Lancaster and London. Some of Gillows' designs may have made their way to America before George Hepplewhite's

influential pattern book arrived in 1788.5 Badlams' five-splat shield back is different enough from Hepplewhite's design to suggest another source for his inspiration.6 Badlam's splat retains vestiges of the Gothic Chippendale style. (Fig. 3) Also, the wheat grain carving at the center of the crest rail is

similar to that found on a Gillows chair.7 A simple variation of the splat discussed here can be found on a pair of chairs attributed to Badlam in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The chairs in the Minneapolis museum lack the Gothic shoe found at the base of the shield of the example discussed here. They do, however, have a four-piece stretcher assembly. If my customer's chair had had such bracing, perhaps it would have avoided the extensive repairs to its front legs that I will discuss later. Unlike most makers of the period, Badlam is known for using a stamp on his work in lieu of a signature or label. Badlam's name proudly stamped in the center of the back seat rail, strikes the modern eye with the force a bumper sticker on the back of a model T. (Fig 4) One must remember, however, that it was customary for furniture to be placed against a wall when not in use. Indeed, the 1794 Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, includes “The Plan of a Room Shewing the Proper Distribution of the Furniture.”8 This chair is similar to

5 Stuart, S. (1999). Gillows of Lancaster and London as a design source for american chairs. Magazine Antiques June, 1999. Retrieved November 1, 2005 from http://search.looksmart.com/p/articles/mi_m1026/is_6_155/ai_54895842.6 Hepplewhite, G. (1974). The cabinet-maker and upholsterer's guide. New York: Dover Publications. Compare the splat of Badlam's chair to Hepplewhite plates 1a and 9z.7 Stuart, S. (1999). Gillows of Lancaster and London as a design source for american chairs. Magazine Antiques June, 1999. Retrieved November 1, 2005 from http://search.looksmart.com/p/articles/mi_m1026/is_6_155/ai_54895842.8 Hepplewhite, G. (1974). The cabinet-maker and upholsterer's

one found at Winterthur bearing the initials “S.F.”, presumably the stamp of a journeyman cabinet maker who worked for Badlam.9

Fig. 4 Badlam's stamp on back seat rail. Photo by Patricia Tutko

REPAIRING THE CHAIR

When the chair's new owner dropped it off at my shop, we examined if together. Our plan of action included three areas: structural repairs, finish, and upholstery. Because the chair was going to be used in its new environment, the first thing to do was to determine its structural integrity. The chair was fairly wobbly. There was a lot of play at the front legs. When we turned the chair over and pulled back the upholstery the story was told. At some point in the chair's history, both front leg joints had completely failed, splintering each leg from the mortice up. A craftsman had decided to repair the chair by salvaging what he could. He fashioned new side and front seat rails of soft maple, employing butt joints and dowels at the front corners. (Fig. 5 ) He then cut off the top 2 1/4” of each leg at the mortices and then doweled them into the reconfigured seat rail assembly. Over time these joints have loosened due to compression of the soft maple against the end grain of the leg. Newer angle blocks added to all the inside corners did little to prevent the legs from racking. To eliminate the wobble, I carefully made a saw kerf into the maple around the top of each leg and glued in hardwood shims to act as a new bearing

guide. New York: Dover Publications.9 Montgomery, C. F. (2001). American furniture: The federal period. (p.87). Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing,

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Fig. 3 Splat detail

surface. This got rid of a lot of the play in the front, so I was then able to turn my attention to several smaller items.

Fig. 5 Gluing shims at the top of the legs On the front tapered legs, Badlam did not fashion a true “spade”. Instead, he wrapped a 5/16” diameter bead around the leg at 1 1/2” above the floor to serve as a cuff. I replaced two pieces of bead that were missing on the left leg. (Fig. 6) To fill a few small cracks from shrinkage

on the splat, I scraped the edge of a piece of mahogany veneer to a long thin taper. I finished up all the structural concerns by re-gluing a loose crest-post joint on the chair's right side. The next issue to be addressed was the chair's appearance. It had been finished with

what appeared to be a red mahogany glaze. Upon closer inspection, this was apparently done to cover the wood filler used to repair the legs. Filler was also used to fill nail holes in the back seat rail which had once been partially upholstered (Fig. 4) It was decided that I would remove as much of this red over coat as possible and return the chair to a tawny brown finish. I first tried cleaning the chair with denatured alcohol, but it had no effect on the mahogany stain. Mineral spirits and a little

elbow grease proved to be more effective. Most of the chair, including recessed areas of the back and legs, retained an older yet crazed finish. Because these areas were the shade of brown we were seeking, I used garnet shellac on the “dry” areas until they were the same color. I then applied blond shellac to the entire chair.

UPHOLSTERY

Fig. 7 Horsehair stuffing and edge roll

Now that the chair frame was presentable, it could be upholstered. Before I did any work to the chair, I removed the cover fabric as one piece to use as a template for a new pineapple pattern provided by the customer. I was careful to keep the horsehair stuffing and the edge roll (Fig. 7) Although not original to the chair, they were in good condition and were more authentic than modern synthetics. After re-webbing the frame, with jute, I replaced the burlap deck, edge roll, and horsehair. Over all this I tacked a piece of cotton batting and then the cover fabric. (Fig. 1) Brass tacks trim the new seat fabric. The chair now enjoys a new life with its current owners.

ABOUT THE AUTHORMark Arnold is a graduate of North Bennet Street School. He builds furniture and teaches in his shop, Boston Woodworking Co., Ltd., in Sunbury, OH. Visit Mark online at www.bostonwoodworking.com.

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Fig. 6 Foot before repair. Note

shallow dados.