Build For Ever
I’ve been staring at the rear post of an antique ladderback chair this morning. This might seem like a mindless thing to do, but there’s a lot to engage with here – this chair is more than 150 years old. How many times does a hand have to touch a turned hardwood finial before a flat is worn? How many people have leaned back into that curved top slat after a long day? I wonder about the lathe those posts were turned on – does it survive somewhere, perhaps in pieces in some dusty barn? Who was the maker, and where did they live? Did their shop tools get passed down through the generations, or dispersed through flea markets and...