The Story of the Adirondack Chair

The Adirondack Chair, or in its original name the Westport Chair , got its name from the Adirondack Mountains in the state of New York ( Adirondack Mountains ), an amazingly beautiful mountainous area with streams, lakes and forests. The chair was born in the early 1900s in a small town called Westport (Westport) in the state of New York.

The inventor of the chair, Thomas Lee, used to spend the summer with his family in the resort town every year. Thomas came from a wealthy family, a Harvard graduate who dropped out of law school to live in the Adirondack Mountains and work in the great outdoors. According to the story, one summer Thomas decided to build a chair that would be durable in the harsh terrain conditions of the Adirondacks, balanced and comfortable to sit on any surface.

Thomas Lee set out, and between the years 1900-1903 he worked on the construction of the chair, with each version of the chair being passed to his family members for inspection and comments. Finally in 1903 he managed to build the ultimate chair, with wide handles, a high back and an optimally angled backrest. The first version of the chair needed one wooden board for the backrest and the seat of the chair.

Shortly after he finished working on the chair, Thomas met a friend he used to hunt with, Harry Bunnel, who owned a small carpentry shop in Westport. Harry took care of his entrance and shared his concerns with his friend. Thomas offered to share his throne plans with him, free of charge. Bunnell began manufacturing and selling the chair and found it to be very popular, then on July 18, 1905, Bunnell filed the patent for the first Westport chair.

For over 20 years Bunnell continued to manufacture and sell Westport chairs with great success, with each chair signed by him. The chair became a hit thanks to its comfort and durability over time.

The current Adirondack chair is the next generation of the original Westport chair. The production of the chair from whole panels made the production expensive, and in 1938 Irving Wolpin (Irving Wolpin) from New Jersey, registered a new patent for a garden chair in which the backrest and the seat are composed of several narrower panels that allow a curvature in the back of the chair. This version is the basis for the modern Adirondack chair that is still produced today.

In recent years, the Adirondack chairs have been produced in a variety of versions of different types of wood and hard plastic, which makes them more durable and without the need for repainting and regular maintenance. The Adirondack Chair is an iconic chair that is woven into the culture of leisure and outdoor life in American history. An integral part of the experience of living outside the home, comfort and durability for years.