Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Mid-19th Century American Adirondack Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rush, Wood
Late 19th Century American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Fabric, Wood
Late 18th Century American Adirondack Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Leather, Wood
1850s American Adirondack Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Leather, Wood
19th Century American Adirondack Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rattan, Wood
19th Century American Adirondack Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Wood
18th Century English Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Oak
1880s American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Pine
19th Century British Country Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rush, Wood
1920s Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rope, Oak
Early 19th Century English Georgian Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Wood, Rush
People Also Browsed
Mid-19th Century German Biedermeier Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Mahogany
Late 19th Century English Victorian Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Lacquer
1920s Malian Tribal Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Metal
19th Century American Country Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Wood
1920s French Louis XV Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rush, Wood
1910s French French Provincial Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rush, Oak
Early 19th Century French Country Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rush, Wood
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Leather, Oak
Early 19th Century American American Colonial Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rush, Wood, Paint
1920s British Art Deco Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Glass, Mirror, Walnut
Mid-19th Century American Neoclassical Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Iron
20th Century Spanish Spanish Colonial Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Wood
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Wood, Bentwood
Late 18th Century American American Colonial Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Wood
Mid-18th Century George III Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Mahogany
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Leather, Oak
Recent Sales
Early 19th Century American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Cane, Wood
19th Century American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Maple
19th Century American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Wood
18th Century and Earlier American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Pine
18th Century and Earlier American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
1910s English Arts and Crafts Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rush, Oak
19th Century American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Oak
19th Century American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Late 19th Century American Adirondack Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Paint, Wood
19th Century American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Early 1800s American Shaker Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Maple
19th Century American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Pine
1880s American Country Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rush, Wood
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Oak
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Wood, Oak, Leather
1870s American Shaker Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Maple
Early 20th Century American Country Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Leather, Wood
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Oak
Late 19th Century Victorian Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Wicker, Rattan
Early 1800s American Shaker Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rush, Wood
19th Century American Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Maple, Cane
1830s American American Colonial Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique
Rush, Wood
Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Ladder Back Rocking Chair Antique?
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.
Read More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
Fred Rigby’s Modular Seating Can Be Configured in So Many Handy Ways
The plush Cove Slipper 2.5 Seater sofa is just one of many convenient combinations from the London-based maker.
This Chubby-Chic Quilted Stool Stands on Its Own Two Feet
Sam Klemick's cool stool is edgy, cozy and environmentally sustainable all at once.
Riotous Shapes and Colors Have Made Uchronia’s Designs the Toast of Paris
Julien Sebban’s energetic design collective is radically reshaping the look of 21st-century European furniture and interiors.
Is Lionel Jadot the Willy Wonka of Upcycled Belgian Design?
From his massive collaborative workshop in a former paper factory, the designer concocts funky furniture from disused materials, as well as luxe hotel interiors like the new Mix Brussels.
Rock Your Cares Away on This Sunny Hand-Crocheted Swing
The boho-chic Enchanted Forest Swing, handmade by marginalized women from Turkey and Syria, is uplifting in every way.
Learn Why Designer Maarten Baas Set This Charles Rennie Mackintosh Chair on Fire
What happens when you do something to a piece of furniture that you shouldn’t? It becomes an entirely new object.
Eileen Gray’s Famed Cliffside Villa in the South of France Is Returned to Its Modernist Glory
After years of diligent restoration, E-1027, the designer-cum-architect’s marriage of romance and modernism, is finally complete.