Shaker Ladder-Back Chair Plan

A chair built with horizontal slats stacked between the back posts like the rungs of a ladder, a woven seat, and turned front and rear posts, refined by Shaker religious communities from an already-established American ladder-back form into a lighter, more precisely balanced and more durable design. Shaker chairmakers introduced the tilter, a ball-and-socket joint fitted to the rear chair feet that let a seated occupant lean back without tipping, and Shaker chairs were designed to hang upside down from a continuous wall peg rail when not in use, keeping the floor clear. By the 1860s chairmaking was a staple industry of the Shaker community at New Lebanon, New York.