Chair

Patented in 1875 by German-born Chicago craftsmen Herny Reupke and Fredrick W. Krause, this chair is a version of a design known to have been produced in Germany by architect and designer Edwin Oppler and in New York by the firm of Kimbel & Cabus. Described by Krause as "Patent Gothic Star Chair," it was much admired for successfully making Modern (or Reform) Gothic chairs accessible to middle class consumers of more modest means than those who would have purchased such a chair from Kimbel & Cabus in New York. (See acc. no. 2001.67). The patent states that the chair’s construction, distinguished by a back that slides through the seat and into the rear legs, allows for easy disassembly, facilitating storage or shipping. The prevailing design reform ideals of honesty to materials and ornament guided by structure and function are here achieved efficiently and affordably through strategic use of machines, something most design reformers eschewed. In so doing, Krause succeeded in fully realizing the reformers’ aims of producing fine furnishings that were accessible to a broad segment of society.