Description
Provenance and Background Info (Written in 2015)
A set of SIX dining chairs by White and Newton of England. I’d say these chairs were made in the late 60’s or early 70’s. These chairs are exquisite- the carvers in particular are an exceptional piece of design. I really want one of the carvers for home but I can’t justify breaking this suite up.
This set of chairs tick every box. They’re extremely well made. Structurally they’ve fared very well over the last 45-odd years. There is very little to show for their age. The joinery is incredible. These chairs are also comfortable for a dining chair- the back is high and curved. In my opinion the comfort is about the same as the most sought-after Parker design from the same era.
They have the sculptural elegance of Danish furniture but this design is unique to White and Newton. The carver chairs at each end of the table create an incredible sense of style. If you type “White and Newton chairs” into Google virtually no chairs come up- sideboards is virtually all you’ll see. (And their sideboards are just stunning.) Very few chairs come up and I’d say this is because White and Newton were so meticulous in their workmanship they just couldn’t compete with other chairs in the marketplace at the time. These chairs would have taken many hours to craft and that’s for just one chair!
This set tick all the boxes and are still going strong after over 40 to 50 years of use. The advantage of investing in vintage design is simple- when dining chairs have been used for over 40 years and look like this you’re guaranteed they’ve been built to last (and the design is timeless too). There are no better ways I can think of to make a better ecological choice for your home. And to top it off these also offer an astute financial investment. I sold my last set of Parker chairs for $1995 with mismatched upholstery (and there were a couple of condition issues too.) I think these are just as good as that Parker set I just sold- they’ve been priced to compete with similar offerings but with these you’d be getting a set all of your own- I’ve never seen this design before and doubt I’ll ever see another set again.
