English Spindle Back Rocking Chair
Antique 1860s English Rocking Chairs
Rush, Beech
Antique Late 19th Century English Late Victorian Rocking Chairs
Oak
Antique 1850s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
Recent Sales
Antique Late 18th Century European Rocking Chairs
Ash, Elm
Early 20th Century English Edwardian Rocking Chairs
Elm
Antique Late 19th Century British Rocking Chairs
Oak
Antique Late 19th Century British Rocking Chairs
Elm
Antique Late 19th Century British Late Victorian Rocking Chairs
Beech, Elm
Antique 19th Century English Rocking Chairs
Iron
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
Beech
Antique 1870s English Rocking Chairs
Fruitwood
Mid-20th Century English Rocking Chairs
Fabric, Wood
Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Children's Furniture
Walnut, Fabric
Antique 18th Century Rocking Chairs
Elm
Mid-20th Century English Rocking Chairs
Elm
People Also Browsed
Antique Early 1900s Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Oak
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
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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