A Morris chair is an early type of reclining chair. The design was adapted by William Morris

William Morris

William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...

's firm, Morris & Company from a prototype owned by Ephraim Colman in rural Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

, England. It was first marketed around 1866.

The design features a seat with a reclining back and moderately high armrests, which give the chair an old-style appearance. The characteristic feature of a Morris chair is a hinged back, set between two un-upholstered arms, with the reclining angle adjusted through a row of pegs, holes or notches in each arm. The original Morris chair had dark stained woodwork, turned spindles and heavily decorated upholstery, in typical Victorian style.

The chair was widely copied after Morris' introduction, and is still manufactured. The appearance and style of upholstery is usually quite different to Morris', but the overall layout is constant. The best known examples are those first produced by Gustav Stickley

Gustav Stickley

Gustav Stickley was a manufacturer of furniture and the leading proselytizer for the American Arts and Crafts movement, an extension of the British Arts and Crafts movement.-Biography:...

 and then widely copied afterwards. These are in the American Craftsman

Arts and Crafts movement

Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...

 idiom, rather than English Arts & Crafts styles. Woodwork is lightly finished and largely undecorated oak in rectangular sections. Upholstery comprises unframed cushions in brown leather, or green or brown fabric. As this style is by far the most common, the chair is often thought of as a Stickley design named in homage to Morris, rather than an original Morris piece. As with all Stickley, these chairs are keenly collected today and originals fetch several thousands of dollars.

The chair is mentioned prominently in the Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....

 cover of the Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...

 song "You'd Be Surprised

You'd Be Surprised

You'd Be Surprised is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1919.The first verse introduces the shy Johnny and the woman Mary who finds him to be an exceptional lover, although apparently no one else ever has. She explains his appeal in the first chorus. By the second verse, Mary's talking-up of...

" as follows:

"At a party

Or at a ball

I've got to admit

He's nothing at all

But in a Morris chair

You'd be surprised."

Additionally, the Morris chair is mentioned in another Irving Berlin song, "All By Myself", published in 1921, as well as in the song "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" (1922), by Joseph Meyer

Joseph Meyer

Joseph Meyer was a German industrialist and publisher, most noted for his encyclopedia, Meyers Konversations-Lexikon.-Biography:...

:

"A cozy Morris chair

Oh what a happy pair",

or, as Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...

 sang in her recording of the song:

"A cozy Morris chair

What kind of chair is a Morris chair?".

It is mentioned also in the World War I patriotic song: "If he can fight like he can love, good night Germany" (words by Grant Clarke and Howard E. Rogrers, Music by George W. Meyer)

"..I know he'll be a Hero over there, 'Cause he's a bear in any morris chair..."

It is also mentioned in the Three Stooges short film, Rockin' thru the Rockies

Rockin' thru the Rockies

Rockin' thru the Rockies is the 45th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...

(release date March 8, 1940), when Curly claims, "I once shot a Morris chair out from under Sitting Bull."

The chair is a popular subject with amateur furniture makers, particularly in the USA.

External links

• A Morris Chair Story (scroll down)
• Morris chair styles