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“The Adirondack chair is a uniquely crafted style of chair that promises the ultimate in comfort for outdoor furniture. The chair is designed with a sloping back and seat, in a V-shaped pattern, that somewhat resembles and feels like a straight-backed chair tipped against a wall. The Adirondack chair has wide, flat armrests, perfectly designed for holding a cool beverage while one relaxes outdoors. The Adirondack chair began its history in the early 1900s, under the title of the Westport chair, named after a small town on the shore of Lake Champlain, near New York’s Adirondack Mountains. Thomas Lee, owner of the Westport Spring Resort, who wanted to design a comfortable outdoor chair to furnish his summer home, first crafted the chair. After testing several models of chairs on family and friends, asking them to rate their level of comfort, Lee settled on the custom sloping back and seat of the Adirondack chair.” (1) “After arriving at a final design for the "Westport plank chair," he offered it to Harry Bunnell, a carpenter friend in Westport, who was in need of a winter income. Bunnell quickly realized the chair was the perfect item to sell to Westport's summer residents. Without apparently asking Lee's permission, Bunnell filed for and received a patent in 1904. Bunnell manufactured his plank chairs for the next twenty years. His chairs were all signed and made of hemlock. Original colors were green or a medium dark brown.” (2) Present-day chairs are commonly made of durable cedar or teak, and a maintenance-free version of recycled plastic has been introduced. With The Adirondack Chair: Transformation / Reinvention, Christopher Weiland and http://old.www.iup.edu/images/iup_top.gif have contributed to the continuing vitality of this iconic American style by offering emerging designers and makers an opportunity to explore the style from their particular contemporary viewpoints.
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