A stunning and rare Morris & Co style walnut recliner, re-upholstered in a Sanderson chenille claret Autum Flowers fabric, keeping the old stuffing intact, circa 1880s. This may well be a Philip Webb design for Morris & Co; although it also has some elements of George Jack (also for Morris & Co).
The classic bobbin turned Morris & Co recliner was based on a design from a traditional prototype found by George Warington Taylor, their business manager at the time, on the premises of an old carpenter named Ephraim Colman in Hurstmonceaux, Sussex, in about 1866. He enclosed a sketch (see last image) and description of the chair in a note written to Philip Webb and the model was adapted for production by them. If anything this version is closer to that sketch. Extremely comfortable.
