Re-upholstery Projects
It is unusual to find early 19th century upholstered furniture that still has the original fabric. In order to give visitors a better impression of what was really available at the time, we have chosen to use period reproduction fabrics when possible.
Click on the thumbnails to get a larger view of each picture.
Margaret Wylie owned this little rocking chair. One of her great-granddaughters donated it to the museum in 2004. After we had it reupholstered we placed it in the parlor.
This wing chair is covered in a beautiful woolen fabric that was available during and before the 1840s. Visitors are often surprised to learn how much color and pattern was used to decorate homes in the 19th century.
The dining room chairs have been covered with a reproduction horsehair and hemp cloth. Hair cloth was widely available during the 19th century and was often chosen for its durability.
Another dining room chair that has been re-upholstered using period reproduction hair cloth.
This footstool is also covered in hair cloth, this time a plain weave.
Morton C. Bradley, Jr., a great-grandson of Theophilus Wylie, bequeathed many family heirlooms to the museum. Below you see some of the upholstered pieces of furniture that will be used to furnish the new Bradley Education Center. The late Victorian parlor suite, of which you see three pieces, belonged to Louisa Wylie Boisen. We have a letter that she wrote to one of her brothers in 1877, telling him about purchasing the suite in Terre Haute. She said it was covered in "red rep" so that' s what we used when we had the pieces recovered. The suite consisted of 8 pieces and Louisa commented that, "On account of a defect we got them very cheap, $35 for all. And they look very well, so that persons think they must have cost $75."
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