I inherited three of these chairs a few years ago.
I had no idea what they were called, who had made them, or when they had been made. They were just sitting outside, always, either at my grandmother's house or later at my father's. A piece of (heavy) junk I thought...
Not so fast!
Just this spring, when I was getting ready to do some sort of make over on these chairs, I began to investigate... These are called "clam shell" chairs and they were made by John Salterini, in Brooklyn, New York! Then, when we went up to Hudson, NY there they were again.......at this shop:
Beautiful, rare example of a rocker:
And here are my chairs:
Ours were probably bought, by my grandmother, around 1950. She had a really lovely backyard terrace in Chestnut Hill, PA. I think I vaguely remember these....
But, of course, by the time these came to me fifty years had passed (really?)
You can see, the rust was there alright...
So I sanded and scraped and spray painted:
Nice, no? I just love them. I'm debating whether I want to have cushions made for the seats. They're really very comfortable as is, but then again, a thin cushion in the shape of the seat might be nice.... I'll let you know.
Here are some other fun pieces:
For more sources of Salterini outdoor furniture click here and here.... There are many, many sites if you do a Google search.
13 comments:
It's funny how everything old becomes new again. These are right in style!
Your chairs look great!
My grandmother had these too and I loved them. A word of advice: I think a thin cushion prevents shorts-wearing thighs from looking...corrugated. And if those thighs are already sporting a lunar surface (I know of which I speak), these chairs, sans cushions, can be a recipe for disaster!
If I recall correctly, I believe my grandparents had several of the clam chairs at their lake house in Connecticut. Hmmm. I wonder what happened to them... Your chairs look great! I would want to put some type of cushion because, although they are comfortable, when you get up you have what my boys refer to as waffle butt!
~ Tracy
Delana and Tracy: Ok...... I hear you! Guess the cushions will be forthcoming!
Love the chairs; you're very lucky to have them.
This is a very simple design that really comes together to look great. The simple iron design brings unity and simplicity to your patio furniture
The special simplicity is the first impression of this design. The boldness and precursory lifestyle stick out the impressive feelings and present the fresh views on the warmhearted living space. Very great stuff!
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on this topic. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him. So I should thank you for the free lunch I got.
That’s great! I just tried it out and already found a new domain. It’s a
really quick search. Thanks!
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around
the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
I like this concept. I visited your blog for the first time and became your fan. Keep posting as I am going to read it everyday.
I love these steel chairs. They are perfect for outdoors and for picnics.
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