Antique Ladder Back Rocker
18th Century English Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Oak
1880s American Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Pine
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1880s English Arts and Crafts Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Oak
1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Rush, Oak
1960s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Oak
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Oak, Upholstery
1920s English Arts and Crafts Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Oak
Mid-18th Century Welsh Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Oak
1970s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Steel
1970s Mid-Century Modern Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Upholstery, Bentwood
Early 20th Century Shaker Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Oak
1940s American Victorian Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Maple
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Upholstery, Teak
Mid-18th Century American Chippendale Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Rush, Wood, Maple
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Rattan, Beech
Late 19th Century French Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Wood
1950s Italian Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Rush, Wood
20th Century American Arts and Crafts Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Cane, Oak
Recent Sales
19th Century American Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Pine
Early 1800s American Shaker Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Maple
18th Century and Earlier American Antique Ladder Back Rocker
18th Century and Earlier American Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Pine
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Wood, Oak, Leather
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Oak
19th Century American Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Late 19th Century American Adirondack Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Paint, Wood
1880s American Country Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Rush, Wood
1870s American Shaker Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Maple
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Oak
Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Ladder Back Rocker
Wicker, Rattan
Finding the Right rocking-chairs for You
The phrase “rocking chair” didn’t find its way into the dictionary until the mid-18th century. While most of the sitting furniture that we use in our homes originated in either England or France, the iconic rocking chair is a quintessentially American piece of furniture.
A Philadelphia cabinetmaker’s bill for a proto-rocking chair issued in 1742, which identified the seat as a “Nurse Chair with rockers,” is the earliest surviving evidence of this design’s humble beginnings. The nurse chair was a low side chair intended for nursing women, so giving it a soothing rocking motion made sense. Rocking chairs, which saw a curved slat affixed to the chairs’ feet so that they could be literally rocked, quickly gained popularity across the United States, garnering a reputation as a seat that everyone could love. They offered casual comfort without the expensive fabrics and upholstery that put armchairs out of many families’ budgets.
Rocking chairs are unique in that they don’t just offer a place to rest — they offer an opportunity to reminisce. The presence of one of these classic pieces stirs up our penchant for nostalgia and has the power to transform a space. They easily introduce a simple country feel to the city or bring the peaceful rhythm of a porch swing into a sheltered sunroom. Although craftsmen took to painting and stenciling varieties of the chairs that emerged in New England during the 19th century, the most traditional rocking chairs are generally unadorned seats constructed with time-tested materials like wood and metal. As such, a minimalist vintage rocking chair can be ushered into any corner of your home without significantly disrupting your existing decor scheme or the room’s color palette.
In the decades since the first rocker, top designers have made the piece their own. Viennese chair maker Michael Thonet produced a series of rockers in the middle of the 19th century in which the different curved steam-bent wood parts were integrated into fluid, sinuous wholes. Mid-century modernists Charles and Ray Eames added wooden rockers to their famous plastic shell armchair, while Danish designer Frank Reenskaug opted for teak and polished beech, introducing pops of color with small cushions (a precursor to the bold works that would follow in the 1970s and 1980s).
No matter your personal style, let 1stDibs pair you with your perfect seat. Deck out your porch, patio or parlor — browse the vintage, new and antique rocking chairs in our vast collection today.
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