The common Douglas chair was introduced in the 1860s, and it is only
after this that we see photographic evidence of their existence. Over
the years, they have been made in hickory, beech, walnut, pine, oak and
blackwood. Douglas chairs can claim a greater share of Hollywood's film
time than any other chair. Their time-scale fits the period of the Wild
West perfectly, thus they line the board-walks, litter the saloons and
can be seen breaking like matchwood over the heads of brawlers in
endless celluloid battles. A solid oak Douglas chair is far more likely
to break the head of the recipient as in such a brawl than vice-versa,
and their durability has ensured their survival in large numbers. They
were just as much a part of Australia's frontier experience as they were
America's; Hillend and Gulong show Douglas chairs, and they appear in
illustrations of the exploits of the Kelly gang, drawn in the late
1870s.
Many Australian now are more likely to associate them with public
offices and government departments, for even today they are commonplace
in some areas. Usually Douglas chairs found in this situation are thin,
quite light to carry, and have ply seats. They were made in large
quantities up to the second World War, and in limited quantities as late
as the 1960s. Melbourne incorporates some of the 'Douglas' turnings.
Perhaps it can be said that the Douglas was the end of a long line of
chairs leading back to the stick chairs of Old England, or does the line
go unbroken as we would hope our own family tree would progress into the
distant future.
The one piece of information I cannot offer, is which Douglas the chair
is named after.
When seen in salerooms, a Douglas chair is more likely to be named a
Captain's chair, bringing to mind it being used by an old sea captain.
Maybe a Douglas sea captain?
Adapted from a piece by Ron Douglas, president of Clan Douglas
Association of Australia |