A. & H. Lejambre [signed] (active 1865-c.1907)
Philadelphia c. 1875-1880

Large sets of American dining chairs in the English Reform style are extremely rare, and ones signed by important cabinetmakers of the era are rarer yet. Retaining the original paper labels of the distinguished Philadelphia firm A. & H. Lejambre, these handsome, sturdy and useful examples are quite comfortable, their padded and upholstered leather seats and backs being a quite unusual feature on chairs of this period.

Inspired by designs of English Reform Movement architect Bruce Talbert (1838-1881), this set of eleven oak side chairs features chamfered and stop-reeded incised detailing on all of their leg, back and seat supports, as well as a carved, central stylized floral panel on their crest rails. With their rectilinear profile and simple, stylized detailing, these chairs – along with a chest at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – are some of the only documented pieces by A. & H. Lejambre done in the Reform taste. 

The intentionally understated character of these finely crafted pieces presages much later developments in American Arts and Crafts furniture and underscores the sophistication and significance of the Lejambre family of cabinetmakers. Retaining their original finish, as well as all of their original casters and, of course, their maker’s labels, these extraordinary chairs are as important to the study of American decorative arts as they are useful.

DESCRIPTION: 

White oak with carved floral crest rails, as well as chamfered and/or stop-reeded detailing on leg, stretcher, back and seat supports. Leather upholstery, brass casters. [Nine side chairs plus two larger host chairs.]

PROVENANCE: 

Paper labels on five of the chairs read “A. & H. LEJAMBRE / No 1206 Walnut Street / PHILADELPHIA.” From a Main Line Philadelphia residence, thence to an important collection of American Arts and Crafts furniture.

CONDITION: 

Original finish and casters; original bottom cambric retaining paper labels, protected by later dustcovers; replacement teal leather upholstery. 

LITERATURE: 

Strickland, Peter, “Furniture by the Lejambre Family of Philadelphia.” Antiques Magazine, March 1978, pp. 600-613; Bolger, Doreen, Jonathan Freedman, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, et al, In Pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Rizzoli, 1986. See p. 449 for a discussion of the Lejambre firm.

SIZE: Side chairs: 37¾” h x 19” w x 20¼” d; host chairs: 38¾” h x 19” w x 21¼” d

CALL NUMBER: 531-I-CH