Set of Four Antique American “Hitchcock” Chairs

Lambert Hitchcock

The concept for mass producing quality wood furniture was spawned in 1818 by a man named Lambert Hitchcock. Hitchcock was a master woodworker who got the idea for mass production from clock makers of the time that produced the interchangeable parts for clocks. His operation started in a small town in Connecticut, where Hitchcock began making chair parts from maple, birch and oak. Instead of carving or inlaying the designs, Hitchcock used a stencilling technique to embellish the dark finishes on the chair parts.