Veranda and lawn chairs in the 50s
Veranda and Lawn chairs became very popular after the war when the economy began to boom.
Canvas Lounge Chair, circa 1950s
Canvas lawn chairs
Canvas lawn chairs of the 1950s became more compact and transportable - easier to fit in the trunk of the car. The chairs lost their footrests and armrests, but maintained their vibrant patterns, wooden structures, and canvas backings seen in the early 1900s. These are now considered antiques and are expensive to buy on the Web..
Aluminum Folding Chair Circa 1950s
The Aluminuum Folding Lawn Chair
The folding lawn chair is an Canadian summertime classic. Lightweight and durable, the portable chairs are carted to campouts and tailgates, backyard barbecues and beaches. I wonder how many Fourth of July fireworks have been admired from the webbed seat of a classic aluminum lawn chair? How many great summer memories from your youth are punctuated with the sound of those chairs being snapped open?
The rise of this all-American staple coincided with the growth of suburbs after World War II, when homes with larger lawns were suddenly more affordable. Aluminum production soared during the war, since it was used in the structural framing of military aircraft. After the war, manufacturers sought other uses for the strong yet lightweight material. Turns out, narrow aluminum tubing was great for making chairs.
It was actually a WWII veteran turned inventor who designed the original lawn chair. A former P-38 combat fighter pilot named Fredric Arnold came up with the idea of streamlining an existing collapsible chair that had been used for decades in schools and churches. His original design in 1947 was more crude and less sturdy than today's metal folding chairs, but was it was influenced by the stripped-down utilitarian designs of the early mid-century modern period.
The chair's shape and interwoven fabric webbing were eventually refined and by the late 1950s, the Fredric Arnold Company was manufacturing more than 14,000 of these portable chairs each day from its Brooklyn factory. The affordability, usefulness and minimalist style of the design made the chairs a ubiquitous household staple. source: A brief History of Chairs
Metal Lawn Chairs
These were often referred to as motel chairs, bouncers, shellback, clamshell, tulip, 1950s style, or shell chairs:
Originally designed about 1946 by the late Ed Warmack of Fort Smith, Arkansas. These Art Deco inspired stamped steel chairs were purchased by the tens of thousands during the booming years of the Post-War Atomic Era. Ed’s colorful steel lawn furniture could be found on porches, in backyards, fronts of motels and around pools all across America. Their popularity extends today! Ed sold his company in 1955. Source: Chair History
Personal Note: Not to comforatable and a kind of hot.
Muskoka Chair
The Adirondack vs the Muskoka chair,
Many people will tell you that the Muskoka chair and the Adirondack chair are almost indistinguishable. However the Muskoka has a curved yoke, while the Adirondack is flat. The Adirondack is also a bit steeper, which makes people feel more reclined. It's extremely comfortable, which makes it perfect for lounging. However, the Muskoka can be easier to get out of, making it more suitable for seniors.
Tthe chairs are nearly one and the same. That’s because they share an origin story.
The Adirondack chair was created by Thomas Lee and is named for the Adirondack Mountains in the state of New York. In 1903, he was looking for comfortable chairs for guests that he could use outside. Thus, he invented the Adirondack chair. He showed the prototype to his friend, Harry Bunnell, who patented it under his own name and benefited from the patent for 20 years in the USA. It was eventually brought to Canada by a different manufacturer, who called it the Muskoka chair, named for the Canadian Muskokas. Source: The Adirondack vs Muskoka
Wicker chairs hve been made for a long time. This is a classic veranda chair
Seen here are chairs by Wave Hill that were design in the 196os . Picture of the Veranda by Sparkle Martin, London.
Veranda Chairs
On larger verandas there were wicker chairs and tables . Others might have large wooded rockers such as the Wave Hill product see here.
Porch Swings
Who can remember the part the porch swing played in "To Kill a Mocking Bird" ? see Porch Swing on Youtube
Today's model