Regency Library Chair or Cock Fighting Chair in Burgundy Leather & Square Cup Castors

For sale, a rare and unusual Regency Period mahogany library chair, newly upholstered in burgundy leather and with square cup castors.

These chairs with their distinctive, fully yoked top rail are sometimes known as cock fighting chairs due to the ability of the sitter to sit in reverse with their arms resting on the back of the chair.

This is an interesting, but unproven theory as it is more likely to have been used for reading and writing, with some examples supporting a hinged table and candle holders to the back.

The final picture is from Ackermann's fashion magazine of the Regency Period and was retailed by the iconic Morgan & Sanders and these examples were also pictures in Sheraton's "The Cabinet Dictionary" of 1803.

A live specimen may also be seen in the National Trust collection in the library at Saltram House.

Date circa: 1810 - 1820