vintage aluminum folding webbed lawn chairs

#Vintage aluminum folding webbed lawn chairs full#
#Vintage aluminum folding webbed lawn chairs portable#

(A decade later, his Brooklyn-based company manufactured more than 14,000 chairs a day.) While the metal lawn chairs you know and love don't fold (although some do glide!), they, too, date back to the mid-1900s, when more middle-class Americans could afford single homes with backyards. Later, in 1947, Fredric Arnold created the first aluminum chair with fabric webbing. In 1855, John Cram received an early patent for a folding chair. While folding chairs date back to ancient Egypt, we'll skip ahead a few centuries because you probably have places to be. (We'll save you a seat!) A SHORT HISTORY OF THE HUMBLE LAWN CHAIR If you're interested in joining the metal or folding chair fold, sit a spell with this guide to the lawn chair's lively yet laid-back history, including historic brands and modern makers to know.

#Vintage aluminum folding webbed lawn chairs full#

Another check in the lawn chair's favor: The nostalgia these retro relics serve up in these uncertain times can be as comforting as a Tupperware tub full of day-after fried chicken. Second, they tend to be more affordable, with some in our roundup below starting at a very reasonable $20, meaning you can create a (safely staggered) semicircle-6 feet apart, y'all!-for friendly banter without breaking the bank. First, lawn chairs are far more portable-you can easily tote one over to the neighbor's yard for an impromptu chat about the Sweet Magnolias finale (Who. In fact, the lawn chair has unseated (heh) both the porch swing and the outdoor rocking chair as the Official Throne of Summer. Want to bring vintage style into your back-or front-yard? Here are eight options to shop right now.The July-Aug subscriber cover of Country Living declares 'Lawn Chairs are the New Porch Swing.'Īs it seems the world is slowly, surely, coming out of forced hibernation and venturing into warmer temps and safe socially distanced territory, small groups all over-from Bible studies to book clubs-are congregating on front lawns and plopping down old-school lawn chairs before sharing gospel or gossip. We don't have plans of stashing these nostalgic gems away anytime soon. Portable, affordable, and compact, lawn chairs are practical for toting to your friend's backyard while also offering a larger dose of personality than your average camping chair.

While it may not have the panache of an Eames lounger, the lawn chair has something better: status as the sidekick for your best summer memories. And it wasn't just utilitarian it was also sleek, paying homage to the early modernist movement (as did its all-metal cousin).

#Vintage aluminum folding webbed lawn chairs portable#

With the postwar housing boom leaving many Americans with yard space to spare, Arnold decided to fashion a comfy, portable seat for alfresco hangouts. After World War II, a surplus of aluminum (used for aircraft) prompted many creatives, including Arnold, to find new uses for the lightweight metal. (In its prime, his company churned out around 14,000 of them a day.) It wasn't until the casual-furniture market usurped the practical but not plush folding seat that these picnic staples got relegated to the garage.īut if you understand the genius of the webbed chair as a smart, resourceful, and-yes-stylish specimen, you might rethink its placement. If you meandered down any suburban side street in the early sixties, you'd find a couple clinking cocktail glasses on their front lawn, perched in Arnold originals. It was 1956 when Arnold first patented his aluminum folding seat-aka the lawn chair-and it didn't take long for its appeal to grow. But there's something about those throwback metal and webbed lawn chairs that make them a close second in terms of coziness: nostalgia.įredric Arnold might not be a name that rings a bell for most Southerners, yet you would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't recognize the inventor's most memorable creation. We'll always love a good patio sofa and the buttery soft outdoor cushions that sit atop it. If there's one thing you'll never hear us complain about, it's the strides outdoor furniture has made toward becoming as indoors-like as possible.