My Date With Mr. Hitchcock- A Decorating Fairy Tale!

No, not THAT Hitchcock!

The other Mr. Hitchcock...what's that? You've never heard of him? Well, I hadn't either, until once upon a time, I had a corner in my home that needed to be filled. Isn't that how most Decorating Fairy Tales begin?

I was on the lookout for a small chair to fill a space in our old house and went to my favorite second-hand store that sadly is no longer with us. Waaaayyyy in the back, in a dark little corner, in the middle of a stack of other sad-looking chairs, was this gem...

"Well, isn't that a pretty little chair," I said to myself. I knew it would fit perfectly in the space and with a little bit of cleaning it would be as good as new! I bargained with the owner and got the price down to $30. What a steal, I thought! It had a rush seat that was a little bit broken but I knew that with a cushion it would be just fine.

I got it home and began to clean it up, when I discovered some writing on the back...

 "L. Hitchcock. Hitchcocks-ville.Conn.Warranted"

Being the mystery-lover that I am, I thought I would just do a little research on this. What I discovered would thrill me to pieces! I had just purchased an original Hitchcock Chair! And, it dated back to the mid-1800's!
Lambert Hitchcock was a Connecticut Cabinetmaker who began what is believed to be the first line of mass produced chairs in the country. I found this quote on http://www.about.com/, "Painted dark and stenciled, they were fancy chairs for ordinary people." I am definitely an ordinary girl who likes fancy things so it was a match made in heaven! The town where the company was located even changed its name to Hitchcocksville after the man who began it all and created many jobs for the community.

How fun to own a little piece of history! Plus, they are now worth between $200-$300 each so I can safely say that I got a great deal! I did call the store owner to let him know that if he came across one again, not to let it go for such a steal!
I love this little chair and how it not only filled a corner of the room, it also found a place in my heart!

Oh, and that's a Pier 1 cushion, proving that you can and should mix the old with the new! The Hitchcock Chair company closed its doors in 2006 only to reopen in 2010 under the new ownership of the Still River Antiques Company. You can visit their website at http://www.hitchcockchair.com/ to take a look at some of their beautiful new chair designs. I especially like their Christmas Limited Edition Chairs!

Does anyone else out there have a Hitchcock chair? Or maybe you stumbled across another piece of history that stole your heart. I'd love to hear about it so send the stories my way!

Vanessa