Butt, what? - A short history of the Muskoka Chair

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Landmarks are a way for us to decipher where we are. They can be pinnacles of location, iconic forms with instantly recognizable silhouettes of a specific geographic spot. In Rome, the cobble stone streets take you through the city unexpectedly winding you into the heart of it’s ancient relics. New York, a proud lady in green has towered over the waters welcoming new faces since 1886. While basking in the sun on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Christ the Redeemer one of the new Seven Wonders of the World looks over his city’s bathing bodies. There is a primal need to create items, totems, beacons that reflect a population and set’s their home apart from another’s.

As captured from my old balcony by Mr. Chris Benfey

City slickers wander through their streets catching a glimpse of these silent monuments as they bob in and out of sight behind towering buildings. It’s a constant, even when out of sight they stand proud, simply through their designs. One of the wonderful things about iconic landmarks is that they don’t always have to be so grand, so singular or even so impractical. Still proud and defined some landmarks have evolved from function, are mass produced and yet are just as essential to one’s environment.

For a handful of lucky Canadians this hallmark silhouette is none other than the Muskoka Chair. A timeless form synonymous with outdoor living, quite morning sunrises with coffee and loon filled evenings of star gazing. Without a doubt what the CN Tower is to the skyline of Toronto, the Muskoka chair is to Canadian cottage country. It’s leaning back, wide arm rests and curved seat carefully cradle’s it’s occupant in its sturdy form. It is a chair that’s all about relaxation, good conversation or quiet moments alone. So the question I ask as a designer, how did this outdoor landmark come to be?

Entering into my second back to back weekend of cottaging I couldn’t help but become intrigued with finding out more about these chairs. In full out Canadiana mode, refreshed with a swim in Lake Scootamatta, I looked to shore as 4 chairs lined the beach watching over me. Commencing my research my Canadian self became slightly bruised when I realized I had forgotten about the Adirondack chair. Muskoka’s southern brother and as it turns out the originator of our beloved cottage butt dock. Pulling at my toque I took a deep breath of acceptance and began to fall in love with it’s camp fire story worthy history.

http://www.cfnet.net/yc/images/ycupdate/westport1905.jpg

Originally designed by Thomas Lee in 1903, this gentleman crafted a chair while vacationing in Westport, New York, home of the Adirondack Mountains. The design for Lee’s “Westport plank chair” was created from a single board of which eleven pieces were cut. Its hallmark reclined backrest provided the perfect vantage point in which the sitter could lean back and take in their surroundings. Lee offered up his design to a carpenter friend in Westport who recognized the opportunity to sell this chair to fellow vacationers. Harry Bunnell spent the winter crafting chairs and decided to file for a patent in 1905. He didn’t ask permission from Lee but let’s hope they were able to get past this detail and share a couple of cold brews while seated on the dock. Lee went on to spend the next 20 years outfitting the Adirondacks with maxing-relaxing sittage.

I came across an excellent article written by Douglas Hunter which appeared in the April 2009 issue of Cottage Life. His comprehensive analysis brought another designer to the table in discovering the Adirondack chair’s roots. The early 1900’s places Bunnell and Lee right in the middle of the Arts and Crafts movement. Headed by the infamous William Morris, his Morris chair designed by Philip Webb in 1866 does have a striking resemblance to that of the Adirondack. Glessner House describe the chair as having “wide arms to accommodate books, a loose cushioned seat, and a reclining back that is adjustable....it went on to become a must-have for every household in America”. Sounds familiar? Apparently, the inspiration for this design stemmed from a chair the company’s manager Warington Taylor had see in Sussex.

This being said, we can always come back to an eternal design debate, which came first? But let’s give credit where do and continue on in this Muskoka Chair search...

Apartment Therapy's Find

In trying to track down the Muskoka name-sake, Hunter alludes to a variation on Bunnell’s original 1905 patent. In a less glamourous setting the varied design integrated a bedpan and was used widely in the institutional market. The Canadian patent was granted in 1907 during a period when tuberculosis was treated with healthy doses of fresh air. Gravenhurst became home to the first Sanatorium named the Muskoka Cottage in 1897. This could be where the chair first entered the Canadian outdoors, however the Adirondack namesake continued on. While this is theoretical the Adirondack Chair was marketed as such and available through Eaton’s well into the ’50.

The 50’s, 60’s and 70’s saw a lost in interest in the bulky wood chair in favour of compact, plastic and light-weight outdoor seating. The chair fell out of popularity as polymers and aluminum ruled the manufacturing market. It wasn’t until the 80’s that Canadians may have a leg to stand on in the history of the Muskoka Chair.

The Bear Chair Company

In South River, Ontario The Bear Chair Company re-introduced the chair to the Canadian market. Its founder David Wright saw the potential in the original patented design and created a ready to assemble format. Manufacturing 100 chairs in his first year, David’s business quickly grew nationally and internationally and are now exported all over the world. Incorporating FSC wood they carry on a century old tradition in style and green savvy.

Leave it to Canadians to rediscover a clunky wood chair and make it cool once again. Especially as we see a resurgence in natural materials, practical and longevity in design and a connection to items handmade. Today it’s easy to track down ready-to-assemble Muskoka chairs on your way up north or scoop up a couple of pre-loved chairs at a yard sale. But it is undeniable that no matter where you spend your northern summer vacations there’s bound to be some form of this chair nearby. Available in a multitude of styles and shapes there is a fabrication to suit any cottagers.

I personally am drawn to the recycled wood and plastic varieties, weighing in at a steep $299 I can’t help but love knowing it’ll last a couple of lifetimes. Drawing to a close I can honestly say my bum would prefer a Muskoka chair right. And as I make plans to head up north tomorrow morning, I know I’ll look at the Muskoka chair with a little more respect. Is it possible that 100 years from now, when we’re zipping around in floating cars we’ll still want to head up to the cottage? Disconnect from life for a couple of days and enjoy a coffee pill and a good novel on Mac’s 101 generation iPad. Hopefully by then they’ll have solved the issue of cottage country traffic. Until next week I suggest you find your local Muskoka chair and take a load off, stroke it’s wide arms and lean back for a minute or two for a rest.

Creed - Carol Reed's Mod Finds