Rocking Chairs
18th Century Welsh Georgian Antique Rocking Chairs
Mahogany
Late 18th Century Arts and Crafts Antique Rocking Chairs
Wood
Early 18th Century American American Colonial Antique Rocking Chairs
Leather, Oak, Rush
Late 18th Century American Adirondack Antique Rocking Chairs
Leather, Wood
Late 18th Century American Adirondack Antique Rocking Chairs
Rattan, Wood
Mid-18th Century English Rustic Antique Rocking Chairs
Brass
Late 18th Century Antique Rocking Chairs
Wood, Linen
18th Century English Country Antique Rocking Chairs
Oak
Mid-18th Century Swedish Rococo Antique Rocking Chairs
Linen, Wood
19th Century English Antique Rocking Chairs
Yew
Mid-19th Century German Biedermeier Antique Rocking Chairs
Mahogany
Late 18th Century American American Colonial Antique Rocking Chairs
Wood
18th Century and Earlier French Antique Rocking Chairs
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
Upholstery, Hemp, Mahogany
Mid-18th Century American American Colonial Antique Rocking Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
Fabric, Bentwood
Early 20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Rocking Chairs
Beech
1960s Dutch Scandinavian Modern Vintage Rocking Chairs
Teak, Velvet
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Rocking Chairs
Wood
1630s English Charles II Antique Rocking Chairs
Oak
Late 18th Century European Antique Rocking Chairs
Ash, Elm
1660s Mid-Century Modern Antique Rocking Chairs
Wood
1760s French Mid-Century Modern Antique Rocking Chairs
Bamboo
18th Century Great Britain (UK) Georgian Antique Rocking Chairs
Rush, Ash, Oak
1650s Antique Rocking Chairs
Wool, Beech
Late 18th Century American American Colonial Antique Rocking Chairs
Wood
18th Century and Earlier American Folk Art Antique Rocking Chairs
18th Century and Earlier English Antique Rocking Chairs
Oak
18th Century and Earlier American Antique Rocking Chairs
Appears to have been con...
18th Century and Earlier Antique Rocking Chairs
Chestnut
18th Century and Earlier American Antique Rocking Chairs
Pine
Vintage, New and Antique Rocking Chairs
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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The 'King of Slovenian Design' is getting discovered anew, thanks to reissues of his sleek and inventive postwar designs.
How One Chair Rocked Its Way Into Hearts and History
The noted design historian explores the origins of the rocking chair, a quintessentially American piece of furniture that is still going strong after 300 years.