Poynor Armless Sewing Rocker

  • Creator: Richard Poynor (1802-1882)
  • Title: Poynor Armless Sewing Rocker
  • Date: ca. 1855
  • Description: This armless rocking chair with split-bottom seat is missing part of the wood in the top slat.
  • Historical Note: This chair was made by Richard Poynor, an African American furniture artisan living in Williamson County, Tennessee. Poynor, born into slavery, purchased his freedom in the 1850s. A prolific and popular chairmaker, Poynor is best-known for this type of ladderback chair, with its distinctive arched slats. Seats were usually fashioned from oak splits, rockers from walnut, and chair frames from hickory and maple. This chair, reputed to have been inside the Carter House, in Franklin, Tennessee, during the Battle of Franklin in November 1864, was apparently damaged by a bullet. The Carter family's son Todd, a Confederate soldier, died in the house from wounds suffered during the same battle.
  • Institution: Carter House / Battle of Franklin Trust, photograph by John Guider
  • Publisher: Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University
  • Rights: Images reproduced on this website are intended for individual, educational use only. For research inquiries about specific objects or requests for high resolution images, contact the Carter House/Battle of Franklin Trust.
  • URL: http://cdm15838.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/shades
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